Baptismal font
The baptismal font in City Road Chapel, London, England. (Photo courtesy of Bishop Ken Carter/Facebook)
Special to United Methodist Insight | Feb. 17, 2026
Living abundantly occurs in relation to consecration. The Water of Life is flowing (“rivers of living water,” Jesus said) but we must drink it. The spiritual journey is marked with oases but we must stop at the wells. Investment is the way.
I have tended to think of what happens when we do this, focusing on the blessed life God wills focus, and that is certainly the purpose (telos) of our commitment.
But reading a recent meditation[1] by Diana Butler Bass, I was reminded that consecration is a two-act drama. The first act is renunciation. [2] Baptismal liturgies begin here because “abandonment to divine providence” (Jean Pierre de Caussade) is the commencement of our consecration, what E. Stanley Jones called “victory through surrender.” [2] In adult baptism we are asked these questions before we experience the water,
“Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?”
“Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?”
“Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?” [3]
Renunciation, the first act of consecration. In the Wisdom tradition it is called the way of descent. Jesus’ first three Beatitudes are about this; only then do we pivot (in the fourth beatitude) and move into the way of ascent described in beatitudes five through eight (Matthew 5:1-12). Paul later used additional metaphors that teach the same thing: dying before rising (Romans 6:8), emptying before filling (2 Corinthians 4:7), putting off old clothes before putting on new ones (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Lent is the season in the Christian year when we pay special attention to renunciation. We begin the season with Ash Wednesday in a few days. The forty-day experience (not counting Sundays) gives us six weeks annually to think about the first act of consecration. This is not negativity; it is the necessary step of removing the hindrances to holiness in our lives so that the fruit of the Spirit can be manifested. Renunciation is where consecration begins. [4]
[1] Diana Butler Bass, “The Cottage,” 1/11/2026, Substack.
[2] E. Stanley Jones, Victory Through Surrender (Abingdon Press, xxxx).
[3] In infant baptism, parents and/or sponsors promise to nurture the child in ways that establish the pattern of letting go and taking up.
[4] In the liturgical year, the second-act of consecration (beatitudes 5-8, rising, filling, and clothing) begins on Easter Sunday. The post for the Saturday before Easter will turn to this aspect.
Steve Harper 2024
Courtesy Photo
The Rev. Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor, who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of more than fifty books.. He is also a retired Elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.