Have you received Christian Baptism?

I have seen two important movies for understanding how to teach children to choose between good and evil. Christian baptism teaches us to give them only the choice of good and let Christ be the one who is for “the rise and fall of the good or the evil person”. Others must nevertheless await the production of good works in the child – works that are prepared for us to do once the gifts of the Holy Spirit have been shared with us in the community of faith. Also, one must await the final separation of evil from good by the Just Judge. All those associated with evil will perish. Those associated with Truth and Grace in baptism will be given eternal life.

Maleficent I is a movie recounting the story of Sleeping Beauty by the Grimm Brothers and starring actress Angelina Joli. This story, presented by Disney productions, is a tale about light surrounding darkness and the light extinguishing it. I have not seen the sequel.

Wonder Woman I is a movie starring Gal Gado –Varsano. The heroine discovers she has to stop fighting flesh and blood people and start fighting the evil forces of the realm of darkness, a good work that was prepared beforehand for her to do. She does this with the gifts of the Good Giver filled with a spirit dedicated to good. I have also not seen the sequel so I cannot comment on it.

There is a Christian chorus sung on YouTube by Ron Kenoly that quotes (from Romans 14.17), “ Righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost – that’s the Kingdom of God.” The refrain asks, “Don’t you want to be a part of the kingdom? Don’t you want to be a part of the kingdom? Don’t you want to be a part of the kingdom? Come on everybody !”

What is the kingdom ? It is living, united in obedient love to the king, and listening with confidence to his worldview, his plan. It is cherishing the one Son of God and Son of Man chosen to mediate between God and Man – Jesus Christ. God exalted this man to his right hand as judge and redeemer. He is joining faithful followers, through his Spirit, to the impartial loving Father who was offended when humanity was fascinated with having a choice between good and evil. To have a choice seemed to give more worth to human life. Now, since Christ has been revealed, we can choose to only adopt one option – total commitment to God. We may live under the celebrated renown of Jesus’ being and person. He is the one who gets truth and grace in perfect balance by taking on our sin. He gives the righteous perfection necessary to find life with a love-committed God. Where he is, we are free never to have anything to do with evil. It is no longer a choice or option for us. There is no need anymore to chase after and nourrish any evil desire. There is no need for substitute trusts that disappoint us in their fading popularity. Only prepared for us to do, is the pursuit of good works 6 days out of 7. The seventh day God does good works to us all the while resting in his glorious kingdom. Preparation was made for each of us according to our Spirit-filled giftedness. We have rest. We may sleep in peace. We have long life, following in the footsteps of parents and ancestors who cut paths for us. In respect, we let those in authority over us do the good they want to do for us. There is no need to cut people out of our lives by hatred, disdain for “fools” or by giving ourselves superiority over those against whom we are angry. There is no need to exploit more than one person’s sexuality. We may safely give ourselves to one person with whole hearted permission. There is no need to hide the possessions we have illegally gained. We may instead work, have something we have made on our own, and be generous with it. Does God not give us all that we ask for in prayer and with thankfulness ? We no longer need to insist, with false proofs, that another is unworthy. In the kingdom of God, a freshly anointed king has brought in a new standard. We need not obsessively crave something or someone belonging to another. Is there anyone who can do anything he wants to do? Yes, God can. He does whatever he pleases, and that is good news for us who love when he shows up. In Paradise, beyond our visible world, there is a God whose will may be done on earth. Every day may be sustainable. No one must remain a debtor to him or go unforgiven in this scheme of things. No one can hurt someone he has hated, nor hate someone he has hurt. When the temptations come, he or she will be delivered from the Evil One. For there is no glory, honour, power or kingdom like this one ! And it belongs to Jesus, the One annointed to represent you and me against all dark forces.

May there be no interruptions to his loving kindness in your life, may he always get the first best fruit from you, and may he not be forced to ask you to pay for it, for that would dishonour him. Be baptized.

Now, if someone told you at your first baby shower that you were soon going to provide total care of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of a child who would misuse his/her priviledge and :

• would try to get his or her own all consuming, yet never satisfied wants 24/7;
• would engage in repetitive loveless cheap sex after puberty;
• would want to accumulate putrid mental and emotional garbage;
• would make frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness;
• would employ trinket gods, magic-show religion and end up in paranoïd, loveless, cut-throat competitiveness;
• would express a brutal temper with an impotence to love or be loved;
• would have a divided home and create divided lives;
• would be small-minded and have lobsided pursuits;
• would have the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival;
• would have uncontrolled and uncontrollable food, drink and substance addictions;
• would have ugly parodies of community surrounding him/her;

Would you not ask that child, “Don’t you want to be a part of the kingdom ?”

In Galatians 5.19-25 there is a remedy for evil desire. The fruit of the Holy Spirit. When your loved one is led into temptation, pray that God will deliver them from the Evil One and fill him/her with his spirit. Maleficent is delivered from the Evil One, but it takes a lifetime of regret to get there. Wonder Woman begins fighting the forces of evil and finds good fruit in the people who are delivered from the Evil One.

Life is too exposed to the Evil One to bypass Christian baptism, either for oneself or for one’s household. Don’t you want to be a part of the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit and live under the rule of the greatest of kings, the Son of Man who is revealed as the Son of God ?