Truths stranger than fiction

Surely you’ve heard statements about truth being stranger than fiction.

Here’s one: During a recent out-of-town trip, we bought some groceries and other things hard to find locally. Before we left for home, a backseat passenger (I was driving) asked whether he could work the puzzle on the back of a cereal box. So I handed him the box and a pencil.

After finishing the puzzle, he asked if/when we’d stop for supper, saying he was starving because staring at the box of Bran flakes (no raisins) made his mouth water. Mm mmm! Bran flakes! Now, how many people has that happened to?

The Bible describes the wisdom of God — the truth — as being stranger than fiction to the wise of the world, which included all of us at one time (1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 17:17).

One common Bible misunderstanding is the purpose of baptism in salvation because of a focus on Ephesians 2:8-9, which says we’re saved by grace through faith and not by our works. That’s correct because the Bible says so; however, it appears there’s a misunderstanding about exactly who does the work in baptism. It certainly isn’t the one being baptized because they’re merely submitting/responding to the word of truth (Acts 2:38-41, 47; Romans 8:9-17; Ephesians 1:13-14).

First Corinthians 12:13 states we’re baptized by the Spirit into Jesus’ body, the church (Ephesians 1:22-23), and Colossians 2:9-11 states Jesus does the work on our hearts in baptism. Also, in Romans 6:3-7, Paul said baptism is when we unite ourselves with Christ through his crucifixion and, in Galatians 2:20-21, he said he was crucified with Christ, but he did nothing to set aside the grace of God. We’re saved by Jesus’ resurrection during baptism (1 Peter 3:21-22).

Here’s another account of truth stranger than fiction: We have an early afternoon service each Sunday after a fellowship meal because several of our members come from afar. Some children who attend church elsewhere come to lunch and our afternoon service with their grandmother; while waiting for the service to start, they play hide-and-seek with the congregation’s children.

One week, they brought a friend who had trouble finding a hiding place as the hide-and-seek countdown was dwindling. So she hurdled a low wall at the front of the auditorium, right into the baptistery — sploosh! Her first comment after climbing out was, “I’ve done that before at my church, and there was never any water in it.”

In the New Testament, whenever someone wanted to become Christian, he or she was baptized immediately without letting anything stop them because he or she knew it was necessary for those who have confessed their faith in Christ to call on his name and be saved (Acts 8:36-39; 16:25-34; 22:1-16; Romans 10:8-13).

It’s strange to me a church knows the need for a baptistery but doesn’t keep it ready for this important occasion. Is your church always ready for you to call on the name of the Lord?

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected]