There's stuff in the baptistry

How can you baptise if your baptistry is not full of water? 

A tongue in cheek comment at a conference I went to this week, but it reminded me of a blog I wrote a little while ago but didn't end up doing anything with. 

On a Saturday morning, a little while ago, for the second time in a couple of months I cleared out the baptistry at church so we could have a 'dry run'. To be fair, it was my fault the baptistry was full of stuff because I'd put someones stuff in there for safe keeping whilst it was waiting for it to be sorted out. It's now in in my loft and in the cupboard in my spare room. 

To get to the baptistry I had to move bags of glue and shortbread, a set of drums and some tambourines and a selection of things that look kind of like microphone stands but could be something else entirely. 

So much stuff in the way. 

Whilst the stuff in the baptistry wouldn't stop people getting baptised - it could be moved - perhaps it might be symbolic of something bigger. 

We all long for restoration - for transformation - as we look at the world around us - as we look at our own lives - we long for things to be better and we hope that one day they will be. The whole act of believers' baptism is about that - it is a symbol of the transformation we receive in Jesus - moving from old to new, the putting on of new clothes - through death to new life - restoration. 

The empty baptistry just needs to be filled with water (and hopefully warmed up) - and it will be in a weeks time - but a baptistry full of stuff needs more work. 

When we want to see change we're stopped in our tracks because the stuff we treasure builds up and in our wisdom we leave it there and use it as a convenient excuse to not work towards the transformation we're called to. 

A blanket statement stops the baptistry being filled - 'there's stuff in the baptistry' is a poor excuse for not filling it with water. Blanket statements stop transformation  - 'nothing is going to change so why bother?' 

If I don't remove the rubbish, I don't need to get wet
If I don't clear my table, I can't invite people round
If I don't fill in the form, I won't have to deal with result
If I just don't turn up it's not my problem anymore. 

If we want to see this world change we've got to stop treasuring all the stuff that stops the change. I watched the Two Popes on Netflix last night and one phrase that struck me was 'nobody's problem becomes everybody's problem'. 

That's it isn't it? We don't clear the stuff out of the baptistry just so we can stand in there when we feel like it. We clean the stuff out of the baptistry to open that door for others..... because you never know, by doing so, you might begin a sequence of events that does change things for the better after all.

What is the rubbish, the treasure, the barrier you're refusing to remove? 

Stop making excuses, because when you start stepping forward, those things that stop us, they will disappear, and it will come..... 

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track" Proverbs 3:5-6