But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed
2 Timothy 1:12

I was only twelve years old at the time, but I still remember it well. It was November 8 1992. I came forward that Sunday morning with tears running down my face as I made that good confession. “Yes, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died on the cross for my sins.” I had been raised in the church all my life. I had studied the Bible. What does it mean to become a Christian? When they are young, a child’s faith to God is met through obeying and honoring their father and mother. However, there comes that time in a young person’s life where they begin to realize that faith in Jesus Christ must become their own. It is a decision that we must make independently before God. We recognize that we are lost in our sinfulness. The repentance and belief in Christ is a turning point as we seek to become like Jesus. We enter the family of God, the Church, as we are baptized into Christ.
I remember rising from the water filled with the sweet assurance of the grace in which I had been made new. “I am forgiven” what a thought! Words cannot fully capture the feeling. I love the way Acts 8:39 describes the joy of the Eunuch the moment after his baptism:
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Can’t you just see him jumping for joy? No longer an outsider, he is a child of God. He will never be alone. He is a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a learner, a student. Baptism is merely the starting point; it is not the finish line. I remember feeling like I had failed God the first time I sinned after having been baptized. I had to grow to learn that discipleship is a process of continuing to learn from our mistakes as we seek Christ and are changed. Each day we start again and decide if we will continue to follow Jesus and obey his will. What have you decided?