Daily Devotion

by Jackie Cutshall

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

Do you remember your baptism?  I don’t and I’m sure many Lutherans don’t if they were baptized as infants or toddlers. But I do remember our first child’s baptism.  As we stood before the baptismal font in my home church and heard the admonitions to us and responded to the questions put to us, we took on the responsibility of bringing her to the Lord’s house to be among God’s people, placing in her hands the scriptures, teaching her the commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed and helping her grow in the Christian faith and life.  It was a heavy load but we made those promises and tried our best throughout our lives to fulfill them.  Four more times we stood before a baptismal font and made these promises in the presence of God, our congregation and family members.  

Every time I witness a baptism, I am transported back to those days when my husband and I were the ones promising to be faithful to God in raising our children.  I feel again the tremendous responsibility I have taken on to be a Christian parent and pray that the parents I am witnessing that day will do the same for their children.  When our grandchildren were born, we discovered that my father’s baptismal gown was still in the family.  Many of my grandchildren and my brother’s grandchildren have been baptized in that heirloom gown, made by my great-grandmother, the great-great-great grandmother to our grandchildren, bringing together generations of Christian parenting.  

Since we joined Good Shepherd just before the birth of our third child, our children were able to experience the full benefits of having a large congregation of children their ages, pastors who inspired them in faith and to learn scripture, congregational leaders who faithfully provided many Christian experiences and families who supported each other through the joyous, tumultuous, and humbling parts of life.  Good Shepherd has remained faithful in its nurturing of many lives.   I am thankful for the life-long friends I have made through Good Shepherd, my Christian family.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”  I Corinthians 12:13