Lookee that!

A brilliant comment by a brilliant friend goes as such in reply to my question, "How important is a ring to a marriage?" : "As baptism is to our faith."

---

I totally agree. For as much as a wedding ring is important, it is merely an outward sign of two people being married and for as much as baptism is important, it is merely an outward sign of the faith within. They're both just SIGNS, pointing to something else.

It is sad when we start worshiping signs instead of the actual thing. When women worship or become obsessed about the proposal, the rock and the wedding, it says much about the materialistic world that shapes our thoughts. It is saying this day is more important than the rest of your married life. It is easy to see where our priorities lie when we run around like mad women looking for the perfect ribbon or the perfect dress or the perfect garden to create the perfect wedding day and neglect preparations like our daily bible reading. I have to admit it is very easy to forget something like that amidst all the hustle and bustle.

In the same way, when we start to NEED to be baptised or we need to DO something or perform a ritual before we're truly Christian, we have got it so wrong. The beauty of the Gospel lies in the fact that we sinful humans simply cannot even begin to worship the one true God. Nothing we can ever do will save ourselves, not by baptism, not by miraculous deeds, not by speaking in tongues. Only by the blood of Jesus, we are shown grace and mercy by his death which atones for our sins and makes us TRUE WORSHIPPERS.

We're not meant to worship the signs. The signs just direct our eyes and hearts to what're more important. Come and worship Jesus.