Summer will soon be officially here but with kids out of school, I’m sure they are already feeling the itch to get outside and have some summer fun. Summer wouldn’t be complete without a particular toy that was developed by a nuclear engineer.
Allow me to introduce you to Dr. Lonnie Johnson, “president and founder of Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc., a technology development company, and its spin off companies, Excellatron Solid State, LLC; Johnson Electro- Mechanical Systems, LLC; and Johnson Real Estate Investments, LLC.”1
In 1982, Johnson “was employed as a nuclear engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, working on the Galileo mission to Jupiter. While brainstorming a heat pump that would use pressurized water vapor instead of environmentally hazardous freon, Johnson hooked up a nozzle to his bathroom sink. It accidentally sprang a leak, shooting water across the bathroom in a strong stream. A lightbulb went off …
“Years later, while working on the Air Force’s B-52 stealth bomber by day, Johnson tinkered in his free time on a wide range of projects, including this one. (A lifelong inventor, he made his own rocket fuel on the kitchen stove as a kid and built an award-winning robot in 1968 while attending a segregated Alabama high school, before going on to receive a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Tuskegee University.) He eventually worked up a prototype …when he gave the device to his 7-year-old daughter Aneka to try, she proceeded to [use it on] every other kid on the Air Force base.
“It wasn’t until 1989 that he found a production partner in the toy business, Philadelphia-based Larami …The toy was an instant hit, selling two million units in 1991. Toy giant Hasbro purchased Larami — and the rights to …”2
The Super Soaker!
The first squirt gun was patented in 1896, but the Super Soaker took water blasting fun to a
whole new level. Instead of a spritz of water, the target would get pummeled with upwards of a half-gallon of water. I’m not sure why but as a 22-year old, I had one.
I’m sure you’re wondering where the spiritual thought is going on this one. Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch but I think the analogy is credible. Let’s talk about baptism. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Baptism is a picture of our identification with what Jesus did for us. Symbolically, we are buried with Him and raised to walk in newness of life. Full submersion in the baptismal waters is necessary for this picture to be complete. Squirt gun baptism (sprinkling) or super soaker baptism (pouring) doesn’t picture this. The symbolism is missing and is therefore an illegitimate mode of baptism.
Jesus set the example of baptism in Matthew 3:13-17. “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
When Philip came upon the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, Philip shared the Gospel with him. “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (37) And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (38) And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (39) And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:36-39)
Notice the order. If thou believest with all thine heart. Saving faith first. They came unto a certain water. Not a bowl. Not a cup. I’m sure the eunuch had a container of water aboard the chariot for the journey. If that mode of baptism would have sufficed, why was a body of water necessary? Philip took him down into the water. They came up out of the water. The eunuch was baptized.
The definition of the word baptize (baptizo in the Greek) means to fully submerge, to immerse, to overwhelm. Pouring and sprinkling do not fit the definition.
If you are saved, you need to be baptized and baptized correctly. No squirt of water. No splash. Full immersion in accordance with God’s Word. Surrender in your heart today to do that.
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
1https://lonniejohnson.com/biography
2https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-27/black-inventor-lonnie-johnson-patents-super-soaker-water-gun
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