1 Peter 3:21 English Standard Version (ESV) Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

I have been baptized twice. As a teen I had no idea what I was doing. As an adult I knew what it meant to me. Now so many years later I find this as an additional thought. It does no change my motives or understanding. It is an additional thought.

Sometimes when we discover a truth there is a tendency to replace what we knew with a new discovery. This is not correction. My thoughts as an adult going through baptism are still valid. This expands reasoning, not replacing it.

Since I did not receive my baptism as an appeal to God for a good conscience, does that mean God did not respond? Lack of understanding on my part does not hinder God from performing His gracious good acts.

I am not even shocked by this new thought. I have read it before and it did not have the same impact on me then as it does now. It is likely that God was doing something more needful for my spiritual growth back then. Now that I am more mature, there is nothing hindering me from this discovery.

This is not a super spiritual moment. Not everything is awe inspiring. It does remind me that I do not know everything and that there is more to be discovered in scripture, even if it isn’t life changing.

Putting frosting swirls on the top of a cake does not change the taste of the cake, it just makes it look pretty.

Maybe that is the point.

2 Kings 4:3-6 English Standard Version (ESV)

³ Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. ⁴ Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” ⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. ⁶ When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

As long as there were empty vessels the Lord kept pouring.

Are we empty vessels or full of ourselves?

The meditations of my heart have been about yesterday’s final words. “If we do not care about others, well then we do have a problem.” My reflections were about those who I have failed to love. In the flesh it is impossible for us to love some as God loves them. How can we get out of God’s way and allow Him to pour out His mercy and grace upon others?

The answer was simple and yet profound. “Find empty vessels.”

His disciples were instructed to go to homes where they were welcomed. They were told to knock the dust off their sandals when a house turned them away. They were not to feel guilty for not changing the vessels that were full of themselves, only to find empty vessels.

We often see our failures as obstacles to God’s mercy and grace. Shake it off and move on. Pray for the vessels that are full of themselves, that God would do what God does best. It is not our job to change the attitudes of the self-indulgent.  It is our responsibility to show them what it looks like to be what God has created us to be, vessels of mercy and grace looking for empty vessels.