How can water do such things?
"Clearly the water does not do it, but the word of God, which is with and alongside the water, and faith, which trusts this word of God in the water."
Like any good teacher, Luther here repeats with emphasis what he said earlier about baptism. It is not the water that matters most, "But the word of God.... and faith, which trusts this word of God in the water." For Luther, baptism and faith are interwoven and connected. One leads to the other. To baptize with no expectation of faith is a misunderstanding of baptism. I like what today's devotion says about faith. Like baptism, this, too, is God's gift. "Trust is not our work, but a gift that God's persistent, steadfast mercy awakens in us." We don't create faith by ourselves. This is God's work as well. So, in baptism, the Christian life begins. God comes to us again and again through the Holy Spirit manifest in the beauty of creation and through the love and kindness of others. We learn to trust God, and, in turn, share God's love through the way we live our lives. We don't do this perfectly, but God returns over and over with grace and mercy to set us on the right path again. Thanks be to God for the twin gifts of baptism and faith, two sides of a coin, which bring forgiveness of sin and eternal life with God.
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