Blood

Dr. Fred Craddock had no qualms about calling his childhood neighbor, Mr. Cook, a “hateful man”; after all, when Fred was just a young boy, Mr. Cook killed his dog. Fred’s sentiment toward Mr. Cook is easy to understand because many people have had a neighbor like Mr. Cook.

But few people have had a father like Fred’s.

What’s up with the claims of household cleaners? One promises to remove 99.99% bacteria. Another one pledges to kill 99.99% of germs. When it comes to most things in life, most people believe that 99.99% is good enough.

But there’s one area of life that isn’t so forgiving. In this case, 99.99% isn’t anywhere near good enough.

The act of baptism is usually a painless event. There’s not much to it: take a sinner who desires to follow Christ…and add water. Ta da! That’s baptism: as profound as it is simple.

But history tells of at least one very painful baptism in the life of the Christian church.