One of the most significant events of Christ’s earthly life was that of His baptism. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, understood the importance of baptism and showed us the way to begin in the path of discipleship. Christ went to John the Baptist to be baptized of him because He knew there was order in His Father’s kingdom. John had the proper authority to baptize, therefore, Christ went to him to obtain the essential ordinance of baptism. I love the verses that precede His baptism because of Christ’s obedience to the saving ordinance of baptism.
Matthew 3:13-15
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
We likewise need to be baptized of one holding the proper authority, for that is the order of the kingdom of God. Why the need for baptism? Let’s turn to the account of Nicodemus when he asked the Savior a sincere question, and he received the Savior’s reply.
John 3:4-5
4 How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Christ answered Nicodemus and let us know that the way into the kingdom of God was to be baptized and then receive the Holy Ghost. A simple commandment. We must show obedience to that commandment just as Jesus was obedient to every one of His Father’s commandments.
Now, I want to turn to the song selected for this post. It is called “The River” by Meredith Andrews. Read about Meredith’s journey here. Before we get into the details, please listen to the song here. If you need to read and study the lyrics, you can do so here. The part where she sings “where your brokenness is washed away” is where my thoughts turned to baptism, hence the introductory discussion of this post. The rest of the discussion will be about the symbolism of the living water that Christ talked about with the woman at the well.
John 4:13-15
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Christ invites us to come unto Him and partake of His living water, or as Meredith sings “come drink, come away, come find your very life.” Without the Savior, we are nothing. We cannot return to dwell in the presence of the Father without Christ. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by [Him]” (John 14:6).
Meredith’s song begins and ends with a powerful statement: “Everyone is broken and in need of a Savior.” Do we recognize the need for us to have Christ as our Savior? The hope behind the Atonement Series is that you will come away with a greater understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and why we need Him in every aspect of our lives. We are broken. We are torn. We have sorrow. We have pain. Some of us at some point in our lives had no hope. We did not understand the meaning of life. Christ gives us hope and infuses our lives with meaning as we drink of His living water. When we come to know Jesus, we come to understand that He gives us life. He makes us alive. His Spirit lives within us, and that make us feel whole.
Even when we read His word, we can feel the nourishment our spirits receive. There is so much power in the scriptures. The Holy Ghost communicates truth to our hearts. As we gain a testimony and reinforce it, we awaken the dormant part of our divine purpose and see how everything fits into God’s plan. We cannot do this without Christ’s help. We NEED Him in so many ways, not just to repent of our sins nor find comfort in our afflictions. We need Him to understand the meaning of life, why we must gain experience while we are on earth, and why each of us must one day die. We need Him to understand that we will live again after we too are resurrected.
Jesus Christ’s living water has healing properties. No other ‘drink’ is as powerful as the water He offers us. Just as the woman at the well, we need to ask the Savior for the living water so that we don’t have to thirst again. His water makes it easier for us to navigate through life. When we drink of His water, we come to understand what is most important and what is not. We also come to understand that He can renew us again and again. His well has no depth, and it will never run dry. He will give us to drink of His living water every time we are willing to receive it. Don’t you want to partake of this water constantly? I invite you to come unto Christ through baptism under proper authority, so that you can enter in by the way and one day dwell with the Father and Jesus Christ. Christ’s purifying water is the way to freedom from despair, the shackles of sin, from the brokenness of man. He is waiting for you and for me with outstretched arms, always.
The Atonement Series