Why Rebaptism?
At the entrance to our property, we have installed a large swinging gate that blocks wild animals from entering. This opening is a steel-meshed country-style gate over 3 meters (12 feet) wide, and it blocks the entire driveway. On many occasions our children have had to open and also close it, but many more times they have a good swing on it. Recently they have taken up a new hobby: They happily run to open the gate and then climb onto it to sit there and wave goodbye as one of us drives out the gate. If they catch sight of the car coming back home, they run off the house, shouting at the tops of their lungs that we have arrived. Their joy and enthusiasm is infectious and always brings a smile to one’s face when you see their antics repeated over and over.
Many years ago, I asked a friend why she and her brother would run to the lounge room window to wave goodbye to a parent leaving for work. Her response was, “It might be the last time you see that person, and you want to have a good memory of that.”
This makes me think of father and our relationships in the home circle. Do we come home from a bad day at work or perhaps a long trip that made us tired and walk in the door with a sad expression on our faces? If so, what are we portraying? Are we always happy to come into our homes, where we should be glad to be, and our faces radiant with joy? Or do we come home with heavy burdens which really should be left at the gate? Do we enjoy our time with our families, or are we so busy with our lives that we consider our home life to be an interruption?
I recently read a quotation which went like this: “There are but few true fathers and mothers in this age of the world, and this is on account of the artificial lives we lead more than from any other cause.”1
I pondered about this and tried to see if I fit that bill. I definitely was an “artificial” father long ago, when a major portion of my day was dedicated to my business pursuits. I recall not knowing my children, not being an active part of their lives, and I have really regretted letting that time pass. I have tried to mend those broken fences, but they are always something that will be there. A patched fence will never look the same as an original one.
I recently read an article by a man who had lost his wife. His friend wrote the following very thought-provoking poem for him.
If I only knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well, I’m sure you’ll have so many more
So I can just let this one slip away.
For surely there’s always tomorrow
To make up for an oversight,
And we always get a second chance
To make everything right, right?
There will always be another day
To say our,”I love yous”
And certainly there’s another chance
To say, “Anything I can do?”
But, wait a minute, just in case
I might be wrong,
And today is all I get,
I would like to say how much
I love you
And I hope we never forget.
That tomorrow is not promised
to anyone,
Young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get
To hold your loved one tight.
So if you’re waiting for tomorrow,
Why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
You’ll surely regret this day.
That you didn’t take that extra time
For a smile, a hug, or a kiss.
And you were too busy to grant
someone,
What turned out to be their one
last wish.
So hold them dear TODAY!
Take time to say,
“I’m sorry, “please forgive me,”
“thank you” or even, “it’s okay.”
And THEN, if tomorrow never comes
You’ll have no regrets about today.
- Frank Rubio, III
“In forming a relationship with Christ, the renewed man is but coming back to his appointed relationship with God. . . . His first duty is to his children and his nearest relatives. Nothing can excuse him from neglecting the inner circle for the larger circle outside.
In the day of final reckoning, fathers and mothers . . . will be asked what they did and said to secure the salvation of the souls they took upon themselves the responsibility of bringing into the world. Did they neglect their lambs, leaving them to the care of strangers? . . . A great good done for others will not cancel the debt you owe to God to care for your children.”2
Let us think about each action, each motive of our life, and how we perform our duties. Remember the little ones at home who are waiting for you at your “gate.” Leave your monetary burdens, your work-related burdens - even your troubles - at the gate and place a cheerful smile upon your face as you walk through that door each and every day.