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"He leads me beside still waters" (Psalm 23:2b).
One of the most amazing gifts that God has given to us is Baptism. As the pastor speaks the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” something is happening. Yes, the pastor is standing there between the parents and sponsors. There are children sitting in the aisle excited to get a front-row seat to this amazing event. The pews are filled with smiling faces, happy to see another little one at the font. But in the still, clean, and quiet water of the font, new life is being given. God the Holy Spirit is at work in the heart of that child. They are being marked as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. In that simple water combined with the Word of God, they are being claimed as His forgiven child.
In seminary, when you learn about Baptism, you learn the term ex opere operato, which is Latin for “by the work worked.” In other words, Baptism is not dependent on the perfection of the pastor (we’re not perfect). God is working through the pastor in Baptism. It is not the pastor himself who has any special power or authority. God is doing the work to claim that child. God is the one working in their heart.
When David penned this psalm, writing that “He leads me beside still waters,” I don’t think he had Baptism in mind. He did, however, trust that God was going to protect and provide for his needs. God was working through David to bring us to Jesus, the Living Water. Through His life, death, and resurrection, we are led, by faith, beside quiet waters.
In the morning when you splash water onto your face, rinsing away the sleep of the night before, remember your Baptism. Picture the stillness of the water in the font in which God claimed you as His own child, both now and in eternity.
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