I love the symbolism of baptism. Being “buried” in the water, which represents sin’s death, then emerging drenched in the newness of Christ. There’s a joke about a church overrun by squirrels. One of the deacons says he knows how to get rid of them—“Let’s baptize them. After that, we’ll never see them again.” Sad to say, this often happens. People accept Christ and get baptized, which is meant to show they’ve made a commitment…and then they fade back into the world. This must break God’s heart. Revelation 21 speaks of those who make a verbal commitment but then drift away from the faith; only the ones who persevere to the end will inherit the kingdom of God. True repentance results in true life change; anything else is merely lip service. God needs more than our words—He needs our follow-through. “Walk in a new way of life.” This is how we glorify the Father.