Dipped, Not Drowned
It is hard being human. Emotions mingle with second guessing. Overconfidence leads to failures and stumbles. We either suffer from too much ego or not enough. Perfection may be part of our vocabulary but never our daily walk. There are times when I am tempted to believe I have been handed a rather hard lot in life, but nothing I face compares with what my Savior carried for me. The second verse of today’s reading records Jesus saying, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” Regardless of how your church approaches baptism, in the days of Jesus, it was only ever associated with a complete submersion into water. (Baptism of sprinkling of water or pouring of water didn’t come into accepted practice until medieval times when the plagues necessitated an easier way to baptize the sick and dying.) Therefore, the picture Jesus gives us here is a complete submersion in pain and suffering – for that was the baptism awaiting him. “He wasn’t sprinkled with suffering; He was immersed in agony… Jesus was distressed until His work on the cross was accomplished because He knew all the good that would come of it” (David Guzik, 2022).
The cross changed everything. Our very timeline of history is divided by the coming of the Messiah. His work offers unification, but it also serves as a point of division. Jesus never tried to sugar coat his purpose. He knew that the work he did in this world would bring peace to those who accepted it, but anguish to those to rejected it. The gospel ignited a fire of persecution. From Christ onward, those who profess faith in Jesus have faced ridicule and torment because of that faith.
It’s hard to not imagine what life would be like if we never struggled. If everything were perfect and our feelings never waivered we could move mountains, but would the mountains move us? Every time I see a video on social media where a person helps a chick break free from its shell, I cringe. You see, the struggle of trying to free itself from the bondage of his shell builds strength in the young bird. It is because of that struggle that the bird has the development in its muscles to function properly outside of the shell. When someone takes away the obstacle, they take away the growth. Funny how I can see that so clearly when talking about a chicken but not when I think about my own struggles. Matthew Henry explained the importance of trial and struggles by first declaring it to not come directly at the hand of God. God isn’t the one who harms us. However, Matthew Henry states that God “commissions” it. He allows it. You could say, He designed our life to include it the same way He designed the life of the chicken to begin with the struggle of the shell. And for the same purpose, we find ourselves striving. Those struggles strengthen us. They change our mental and spiritual physique. If someone were to peel back those obstacles and make life easier, we would actually be the weaker for it.
Thankfully, the struggles we face have a limit. I love how Matthew Henry described it. He said we are “dipped in them, not drowned in them”. Baptism is not a death sentence, but a cleansing ritual to signify our death from sin and life for Christ. What if we chose to view pain and suffering the same way? They are not a death sentence. After-all, Luke 12:4 put the power of evil doers into balance when Jesus declared, “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.” Eternity belongs solely to God. No amount of persecution – even persecution that leads to death – can alter our eternity. Our eternal life is in the hands of our Creator – not the enemy of our soul.
Will life get easier? I don’t know. Honestly, I hold out hope that one day I will look back at my life and see Job 42:12 reflected (“And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.”) In the meantime, I will endure the struggle because I understand the purpose of the pain. I am being made into the image of my Savior. He suffered… far more than I could ever possibly imagine. That suffering had a glorious purpose. My suffering may not bring about salvation. It may not cause a rift between humanity, but it does still serve a purpose in my life. Like that chick who wiggles and squirms against the confines of his egg, each movement – each exercise of faith – strengthens my spirit and prepares me for the life I was created and designed to live. May I never forget that it is a dipping in suffering, not a drowning.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
References:
Guzik, D. (6/2022). Study Guide for Luke 12 by David Guzik. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/luke/luke-12.cfm
Henry, M. (1 Mar, 1996). Commentary on Luke 12 by Matthew Henry. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Luk/Luk_012.cfm
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