Christians weren’t the only ones baptizing at the time of Jesus. John had a number of followers that he baptized, and there were others. When Jesus appeared to the disciples after his death, he commanded them to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

It was important to Jesus and to the disciples that people be baptized in the name of the Triune God. To claim God’s name meant to be claimed by God.

We have been claimed by God, too. Every time we invoke God’s name, God affirms God’s claim on us. God holds us tight and reminds us of the promises made and kept – of living in God’s kingdom, of eternal life. When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, remind yourself that you have been claimed by a loving God that keeps promises and abides with us at all times. Claim it. “I have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. I am God’s child.”

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”