GodReflection: Six Jesus-Markers To Be More Like Him.
It was Sunday morning. The previous week of short days led to this important step.
My parents taught me right from wrong. I encountered their lesson each day when I did wrong things for which I was corrected. But to me they were mistakes, not sinful acts.
With teaching from my church and family it dawned upon me that my wrong acts must be sin. It is disobedience to God’s perfect design and disappoints and hurts others. Not only does my behavior disappoint him, but ardently, he wants to draw me closer to his likeness.
My sin came into focus. It was like a light came on inside of me.
Over the week I told no one, however, I knew what I had to do. When I arrived at church for my morning Sunday School class, I recall walking by the door that led to the Baptistry. Without a doubt I would go through that door after the morning sermon.
At our church, the sermon closed every Sunday morning with a challenge to commit one’s life to Jesus followed by an invitation song to encourage action.
I was sitting among the young people of the congregation at the front of the assembly. The first few rows of pews kept us within the eyesight of other members to monitor the behavior of young kids, always tempted to visit and giggle with each other. That morning, I had more on my mind than misbehavior.
The sermon ended and Theran Jay’s Irish tenor voice began to lead the church in song with Jesus is Calling. It didn’t take long for me to make my way to answer the call. For an entire week I knew what I must do.
Jesus is calling, calling, calling; Jesus is calling today; why should I linger, linger? I will rise and 
obey. Jesus is pleading, pleading, pleading; why should I wander in sin, while to His glory, glory, glory, glad He would welcome me in?
Jesus is waiting, waiting, waiting; open now standeth the door; soon the night falleth, falleth, falleth, closed are the gates ever more. They are so happy, happy, happy, who do their Savior obey; why should I linger; linger; linger, I will arise and away.
Thinking back to that Sunday, even with the Old English wording of the hymn it could not have been more appropriate for a young boy who was ready to enter the water of Baptism to bury my sin and Mark My Surrender to King Jesus.
Our New Testament shares the story of Jesus born as God’s son in a stable who came to earth to show 
us how to surrender to The Holy. It’s first book written by Matthew, the apostle, tells us about the life of Jesus and paints the portrait for us of the day Baptism Marked His Surrender.
Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!”
But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So, John did it.
The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life” (Matthew 3:13-17).
From that point on in our New Testament everyone who met Jesus and made the decision to commit their life to him and daily walk with him, immediately understood that Baptism Marked Their Surrender.
For the past twenty-one centuries millions of believing children, women, and men have committed to Six Jesus-Markers To Be More Like Him as they declared My Baptism Marks Surrender.
I would love to hear your baptism story and the events that led to the day that Your Baptism Marked Your Surrender.
Stay tuned.
Gary J. Sorrells
A GodReflection on My Baptism Marks Surrender.
God Reflection 