Retired Presbyterian pastor John Buchanan tells of baptizing a two-year-old boy in a Sunday worship service. After the child had been baptized, Pastor Buchanan, following the directions of the Presbyterian prayer book, put his hand on the little boy’s head and addressed him like this. He said, “You are a child of God, sealed by the Spirit in your baptism, and you belong to Jesus Christ forever.”

Unexpectedly, the little boy looked up and responded, “Uh-oh.”

The people in the congregation smiled, of course. [If they had been anything but Presbyterian, they might have laughed out loud.] But, writes Buchanan, the child’s response was appropriate. Buchanan called it a “stunning theological affirmation” from the mouth of a child. (1)

The kid was right. Baptism ought to be an “uh-oh” kind of …