As Little Children
“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
When we come up out of the water, our baptism makes us a new person as we cast off the old. We start to become like Christ. We have been set free from sin. We are forgiven of all of our past sins and mistakes. After we are baptized we have hands laid upon us and a blessing prayed over us. We then fully receive the Holy Spirit. With baptism and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Days take on new meaning and it gives us a new understanding.
The spring Holy Days: Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost, show us all the events that will lead up to the first resurrection. This is where we will start to spend eternity with God the Father and Jesus Christ. This is the end-goal for all of us.
My children sat and listened at the Passover service this year. My daughter asked as we took the wine, “Are you going to drink that blood?” I told her that I was, and that Jesus died on the cross for us: for her, her brother, her family and all the rest of the people in world. He died to save us and give us eternity with Him. I saw a new understanding wash over my 10-year-old. We talked about how the foot-washing may look a little different or even a little silly to outsiders, but that it is truly something special. It is an honor to serve others, and it makes you humble when someone else gets down and washes your feet. When I asked my 3-year-old daughter if she knew why we washed each other’s feet, she told me, “Because it’s fun!” She is right; it can be fun, but it can also make you feel a bit uncomfortable. For some of us it is hard to have others do things for us. I know I would rather help someone than to have someone help me. I want to give and help as many people as I can, and it is hard to ask for help. I know in time they will come to fully understand what this means as the rest of us have, but it is a blessing to watch them over the years get a bit more understanding and a more interested in God and Jesus and what they have done for us.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread came and went faster than ever, and it made me stop and think. How many times did I almost eat leavening? How many things did I find in my house or car that had leavening in them? I did find a fortune cookie in an old diaper bag, and I had to laugh. My daughter has been potty trained for a few months now, and as I pulled out the cloth diapers to box them up there it was, crushed to crumbs all through the bottom of the bag. I dumped the crumbs into the trash can and tossed the diapers and bag in the washer. Sin comes in many forms, and it is surprising when we closely examine ourselves and find a crushed fortune cookie in bags we have not needed in a while. Let us not forget that not only are we to not eat leavening, but we are to also eat unleavened bread. Taking the leavening out represents removing sin; taking in the unleavened is putting God in—something we must do every single day.
While the spring Holy Days are just part of the Holy Days, they help make us humble, remind us to remove sin, and to take in as much of God’s Word as we can daily. Just as my children were in awe of Passover, we should be in awe of God. Every day we should desire to learn and grow in His Word and spend eternity with Him.