Quiet Time

I always have a little morning coffee run - pretty much every morning - before I start my day. It's meant to be a quiet time - and often it is - but I have to admit, sometimes I just read news stories on my iPhone, look at ifunny pics, or catch up on Facebook. It's still a quiet time, but it's not so "spiritual" as I make myself want to believe. Yes, I admit - everything is spiritual - but, let me say it this way - it's usually not as spiritually focused as I imagine it to be, if that makes sense.

Today - though - I thought about Jesus' baptism. I've been thinking trinitarian thoughts a lot, partly because I'm writing about it, and the baptism is one of the few glimpses of seeing all parts of the trinity at work at the same time.

But - that wasn't where my mind went today.

In the beginning of the bible - in Genesis - the Spirit hovers over the water. This is during that creation poem. Water was a big deal in the Bible. It represented the line between life and death. God above the water represented life.

Jesus - later on in his life - would walk on the water. He was above the water - much like the Spirit that hovered over the water. The symbolism is pretty obvious if you know what water represents. This is one of the many ways that the scriptures reveal that Jesus represents life - Christ is life.

But - in the baptism story - Jesus is submerged into the water. It's the one exception in the gospels where Jesus is submerged - life into death. I guess I never really thought about it before - from a symbolism standpoint - but this foreshadows His life's movement towards death. On top of that - after the submersion (baptism), the Spirit - like a dove (representing peace) - descends upon Him. And then the Father says, "This is my son, whom I love, in Him I am well pleased."

This little episode in Jesus' life, in a way, is a foreshadow of the entire gospel. Jesus dies on a cross - gives us peace with the Father - and the Father reveals His love to us kids.

It's amazing how often the whole gospel is revealed in the little moments of Jesus' life. The baptism is pre-miracle, pre-ministry, pre-cross - it's before everything. And yet - there it is. Jesus submerged into water (death), Spirit descending onto Jesus (atonement - peace), Father revealing His love.

It's amazing how consistent God's love truly is.

Anyway - some cool thoughts on the way home from AmPm - with my coffee in hand.

Have a great day!

Jer