The oddity of Baptism

This past weekend, my nephew Jace was baptized. When Jesus was baptized, John had already come declaring the truth about one who was to come. When Jesus was baptized, he came up from the Jordan, he had a vision of a dove descending from the heavens. The dove, a classic symbol of the Holy Spirit descending upon the son of God. For my nephew, there was no seeable dove, and he was certainly not baptized in the Jordan. For my nephew, he was baptized at an EPC church as an infant. Welcome to the Kingdom.
Jesus then when out into the wilderness to face his temptations. This is an interesting parellelism, for isnt that what we have all do? We are all baptized by water and the Holy Spirit, and then we move into the world of temptation? As a baby, we are innocent, or so it seems. As a baby, Jace is completely atune to where his food will come from, how his teeth are coming in. But, for Jace, his world is completely dependent on his parents, and those who love him. Jesus, was also dependent, he was dependent on His Father, God in Heaven, for everything. Jesus was then dependent on God's Word, Scripture (what would have been the Hebrew Scriptures), to ward of the temptations of Satan. Jace will move forward, and his dependency will lessen, to the point that he will think he no longer needs those who love him. He will be an individual. But, not even the very Son of God believed he could be independent. Why, in any sense, would we be independent.
Yet, baptized by water as an infant, is an in depth event that various people have defined, or rejected, through out history. For some, it is the very salvation that a baby needs in order that they may become children of God most high. For others, and some in the same breath, baptism is what circumcision was in the Old Covenant, and was a sign of the covenant given through Abraham to his descendents of Israel. As the New Covenant comes to us, this new form of circumcision is offered to both Jew and Gentile. The Bible says that it is through faith and water that we are saved. Calvin says that until the infants faith comes forth in fruition, the pedobaptism means no more than that very sign. I tend to assert teh same, seeing some baptized and never come to faith, and others who have not been baptized, but will come to faith. We are but children, God is but the Father, and all who are given faith will come to know the one true God. Salvation is available for all, few will be chosen, and only our Father knows who will come to faith. The church, though, is Christ's agent in the world. Without knowing the will of the Father, we are however called to baptize all nations in the name of Jesus Christ.
Whether Jace's faith comes to fruition in his life, is not up to me, is not up to you or his parents, but is up to God. Our faith lies in the fact that he was baptized into a community of believers. Those believers then have a responsibility to raise him in the way of the Lord, and as the Proverbs says, when he grows old he will not depart from this teaching. Our faith then becomes our childrens, and Christ is further shared. Through faith and baptism we are saved. Thanks be to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. Amen.