Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
10 Lessons from Cleaning the Baptistry
1. No matter how hard you try, you can’t get the baptistry perfectly clean. But Jesus’s blood can!
2. Someone already did a “little thing” by replacing the chlorine tablets. Serving Jesus comes in many sizes.
3. That “someone” is unknown to me. Service is often anonymous (including who cleaned the baptistry), and honestly demands acknowledging we have zero knowledge of all that each of us is doing in serving the Lord. That’s because serving from the heart does not seek recognition but Christlikeness. So don’t complain when you don’t know! How many Bible verses command us not to murmur!
4. Cleaning the baptistry is a reminder of why we are here. Preaching Jesus leads to baptism as seen in the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8).
5. If the baptistry is really dirty, then either many are being saved and the baptistry is like a shower that needs cleaning; or the work possibly being neglected. So cleaning it can be convicting!
6. Cleaning the baptistry is like washing feet. Both involve water. Neither is pleasant. Both need to be done when necessary; so somebody needs to do the jobs no matter the job. Is your name “Somebody”?
7. This baptistry has little bumps on the bottom to hinder slipping. I did not know that! Often we don’t see the little things until we get busy doing both the little and big things.
8. It takes time to clean, work, or serve people. The devil can tempt us with busyness making us think we are serving; but we’re just being busy. Or, are we too busy in life to be serving as our life?
9. A clean baptistry is not a necessity, but it is nice (especially when the water is warm!). However, serving the Lord is not dependent upon our likes and convenience. I’ve been to a pond baptism, and you know what ponds are like!
10. Cleaning a baptistry can be laborious. But when we are getting ready to baptize someone, cleaning it is prayerfully, and expectantly exciting! (and yes, he was baptized!)
Comments