The Quick Fix

February 2014

We live in a time where everything is to be done at high speed. We are extremely time conscious and this is demonstrated in the very common commodity - instant coffee. We like instant coffee because we don’t want to wait for the beans to be ground up, then suffused in hot water, filtered and finally consumed with relish. However, this coffee doesn’t taste as good as the ‘real’ coffee which has just been freshly ground, but we accept this lower quality because we want it quicker, without having to do very much labour. There are many other things which are like this, tablets to lose weight, non-stick frying pans and self-cleaning ovens, dishwashers, sliced bread, ready-made meals are just a few of the items which are readily available for those who just ‘don’t have time’ to do these common tasks.

I am not saying that it is wrong to have these aids to make life easier and more efficient, but this shows our mind set. There are some things in life which there is no ‘quick fix’ or short cut, for instance, you cannot get experience – well, without actually doing whatever it is that we want to be experienced in. Relationships take time to mature and talking about maturity, well once again; this takes time, for some it takes more time than for others. This modern world, with all its ‘quick fixes’ does not help us to develop patience. This may be part of the cause of road rage, quick tempers and impatience, especially for the aged, infirm and the very young.

There is one quick fix which is truly amazing – immersion (baptism). One can be saved from their sins in a very short time, the act of baptism only takes a few minutes but the effects will last for the rest of your life here on earth! It is easy, cost effective and profitable, yet the world does not want to take advantage of this particular quick fix. There are many examples of people taking advantage of this ‘quick fix’ in the book of Acts. In the 2nd chapter we have people hearing the message brought by peter and the other apostles and that very day accepted the plan of Salvation and were baptised then and there! In every instance the recipient did not delay and was baptised in a very short time, basically they were baptised immediately! They were added to the Church, by God, with immediate effect.
Let’s make sure we tell people about this quick solution to their very real problems in life.?