Baptism is not a divine insurance policy.

No one needs such a thing because everyone already has it.

By his life, death and resurrection, Jesus revealed a God who is love, unconditional and eternal. This is not a God who loves only part of the time or only part of the people. This is a God who is love and thus it is the very nature of God to love, always and everyone.

Baptism announces such a love, such a God.

Too often, Holy Baptism has been perverted into an empty and ugly ritual that somehow attempts to force God into doing what God does naturally.

When someone asks me if baptism is necessary for salvation, I say, "Yes...and no."

If by salvation we mean experiencing the eternal love of God then, yes, we need Holy Baptism and every other means of sharing God’s love in order to be saved. After all, what good is a loving God if we can never experience such love?

At the same time, we realize that, surely, the Almighty God is greater than our mere actions. Surely God’s grace can exist and work even without our meager assistance.

The church is called to share God’s love.

The church does not control God’s love.