In a sense what baptism of water, baptism of the Spirit and baptism of fire do for us is regenerate the heart. Baptism of water gives us the heart of a new creature. The old self alienated from God dies and a new self lives. Baptism of the Spirit give us the heart of disciple/witness open to the work of the kingdom. Baptism of fire gives us the heart of a lover captured in the web of love spun by God who is love.

Down through the ages person after person has made that journey where nothing else mattered but Jesus. And once they surrendered to this relationship, they became consumed by love. The more they loved the more they saw it wasn't enough, because in their gift of love they experienced God's love even more. 

When the penitent woman in the Gospel of Luke pours costly perfumed oil on the feet of Jesus, she does it because of her great love for the Master who had forgiven her many sins. Nothing was too costly in comparison to the love shown and the love wishing to be shown. She was captivated by Jesus’ unconditional love and wanted to surrender her total self to please him in all things.

Thomas a Kempis expressed this reality in these words: "He that loves, flies, runs and rejoices; he is free and not bound....Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength pleads no excuse of impossibility...for it thinks all things possible it is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many thing, and brings them to a conclusion. But he who does not love, faints and lies down." (To be continued)