Baptizing a young man after he was technically declared dead

1 Samuel 2:12 and 8:1-3 are some of the saddest verses in the Bible for parents who wish to see their children walk in the ways of the Lord.

Eli the priest and Samuel the priest, prophet, and judge saw what no godly parents would like to see. 

When children walk away from God, it’s the parents who bear the brunt of guilt and regrets. Egotistical pastors use them as examples of bad parenting. Self-righteous Christians gossip about them. Jealous neighbors and enemies gloat over their sadness and sorrow. 

Yet, in the scriptures we see great men of God like Samuel and David going through this pain. Such parents don’t need anyone to condemn them. Their own “what if” and “if only” often lead them to their grave. But a man like Saul had a son like Jonathan, the pride of every parent. What a contrast!

Job was another saint who could not make sense of what had befallen upon him and his family. Like the modern day pastors and Christians, his friends nearly took him to the grave by their criticism. Yet he stood firm in his convictions that God is good and his ways are far better and higher than any wisest man’s opinions.

At last he said “My ears had heard about God and his goodness but now my eyes have seen him. Therefore I will humble myself and repent in ashes and dust” (Job 42:5-6).

It’s one thing to trust God when everything is going on well in life. But it is entirely a different matter to trust him when life is falling apart at every seam.

As a pastor, it is my desire to see God’s people trust him in every blinding bend of the road to celestial city.

Yesterday afternoon (October 2, 2019, Kohima, Nagaland) I baptized a young man in his hospital bed. While he was well and able, he refused to attend church. Two of his siblings are in the ministry. But he remained as the black sheep in the family and that broke his parents’ hearts. About a week ago he was hospitalized and yesterday morning he was declared “technically dead”. While changing his hospital clothes for the funeral ones, nurses found some signs of life.

Immediately they put him back in the ventilator and his heart rate improved steadily, body went back in normal temperature and doctors said that there’s a chance for him to come back to life.

Meanwhile the family, friends and well-wishers had come for final goodbyes and kept asking the parents if he was baptized. This put the parents emotionally in a very painful corner. They were not much worried about him dying as much as they were worried about him dying without baptism.

In desperation many believers and church leaders had asked him to believe in Christ and prayed for him. He did seem to respond to their conversation. But the lack of baptism tormented the parents.

My wife and I reached the hospital in the afternoon while all this was happening in the morning. Seeing the agony in the face of the father, my heart was broken within me. He started with “if only…”.

Having baptized a few people in their deathbeds before, I told him I could give him the baptism right now if he wanted. He was surprised that such a thing was possible. His own pastor had suffered an accident a few days ago and couldn’t come to the hospital. But I asked him to talk to him in the telephone. I also talked with the pastor and he gave me the permission to go ahead with the baptism. In the Baptist heartland of India, sprinkling baptism is considered to be an anomaly and even unscriptural. But when the father understood that it’s not the baptism that saves us but our faith in Christ, his face brightened up. Thus, the mode of baptism is conditioned in the kind of circumstances one finds in.

So, the whole family gathered around the bed in ICU. I read the Bible, talked to the young man who seems to hear, took my mineral water bottle and baptized him.

I could see the relief in the father’s face! No matter how black or dark the sheep the child might have been in the family, parents’ heart will always break if that child dies in unbelief. But what a joy it is to have the hope of seeing that child again in the heavenly abode!

When you see a wounded Christian, please don’t kill him or her by your self-righteousness. Who knows that someday you will find yourself in hell and the wounded Christian you killed in heaven because we are not saved by works but by the amazing grace of God. And His Grace is sufficient in the lives of those who are broken and contrite in the spirit.