This past week my daughter sent me this picture of my grandson Malachi. She said that our three-year-old granddaughter Micah woke up before her nine-year-old brother Malachi and found a permanent marker. (That is Micah in the second picture on my lap.)  Malachi did not wake up until Micah had left her mark on him. He will have a visible reminder of his sister for a while.

One of the characteristics of fine paper and stationary is a watermark. Imprinted in the paper, a watermark is visible when you hold the paper up to the light. A watermark shows you who made it or to whom it belongs. As the followers of Jesus, you have a watermark. Baptism is your watermark.

It was my pleasure to administer the Sacrament of Baptism to a lot of folks over the years, including Malachi and Micah. Just over three years ago I made the sign of the cross on Micah’s forehead and her heart to mark her as one redeemed by Christ. But God put His indelible mark on her when I put water on her head and said “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit YOU ARE BAPTIZED!”

This permanent mark is not just a symbol. It connects us to everything Jesus did on our behalf. It is a washing of sins and an assurance of the forgiveness we have for Jesus sake.

1 Peter 3:18–22 ¹⁸ For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, ¹⁹ through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison ²⁰ who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

You and I did nothing, we could do nothing. But God did what was necessary for us in Christ. His grace claims us and gives us what is not ours: righteousness. We have been drawn to God not as enemies but as loved children, watermarked followers of Jesus, no longer marked by sin’s stain.

At your Baptism, you were marked by Christ, who was marked with your sin. The Father said to you, “My son, my daughter, whom I love” and takes pleasure that you have been made part of His family. The Spirit of God works through the water and the Word, changing you from death to life, from despair to hope, from the chaos of sin to the peace of God that passes understanding. That is because your Baptism connects you through faith to everything Jesus did on your behalf.

You are the watermarked children of God. That mark shows you to be valuable and precious to Him. The mark of His love shows you to be His children as you love and serve Him and your neighbor. You inow the marks in Jesus’ hands and feet and side. He got those marks so that He could save you and mark you as His own. Know that your Baptism marks you as His precious child. With the light of Christ shining, let others see your watermark. Your gentleness with someone who is hurting, your patience and good humor while waiting in line, your mercy toward one who has done you wrong, your hopeful attitude may be the mark of Christ for someone you meet this week, someone without Christ in his or her life.

You have the watermark of Christ. Wear it proudly. Don’t be afraid to show it to others. In fact, that is exactly what Jesus wants you to do.