And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. (Matthew 3:16, NRSV)
Jesus’ baptism somehow prompted an amazing representation of the thing that Jesus’ life in its entirety was about: the barrier between heaven and earth was penetrated and the way from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven was opened.
Perhaps when we are baptized, when we enter into the thing that Jesus’ life was about, we have a similar experience.
O God, we praise you because in Jesus you brought heaven to earth and made it possible for earth to experience heaven.
O God, increase our awareness—or maybe begin our awareness—of the way in which the heavens have been opened to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Make us so heavenly minded that we will be good for something on earth.
Amen.
This post originally appeared in Praying with Matthew: 365 Days of Gospel-shaped Devotions by Michael Ruffin.
Michael Ruffin is husband to Debra, father to Joshua (Michelle) and Sara (Benjamin), grandfather to Sullivan and Isabella. A graduate of Mercer University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he has previously served as a pastor and as a university professor. He lives on the Ruffin Family Farm in Yatesville, Georgia. He is the former Connections Series Curriculum Editor.
