Some people view Christianity that way. They sign a lease when times get tough, expecting the Landlord to fix the broken things. When times are better, their lack of complete commitment shows in less devotion and service or even a complete failure to renew the lease.
God expects, not a thirty year mortgage, but a lifetime commitment. He demands all of you—your deeds (Col 3:17), your thoughts (Phil 4:8), your very being (Gal 2:20). Nothing less will do.
Does that happen the minute you come out of the water? No. But it cannot happen if you have not made that ritual commitment, any more than you are a homeowner until you sign the papers. That is your commitment and for the rest of your life you strive to live up to it, growing stronger as the days pass, giving more and more of yourself every day.
If you haven't made that commitment at all, maybe today is the day to start again, not by being baptized again, for we are all still learning and growing at that point, but by better recognizing what God requires and getting on with it. It is never too late as long as you can draw breath.
God is not your landlord. He holds the lien on you, a lien you will never be able to pay back. Thank him for his grace and give him your life in gratitude.
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin (Rom 6:4-7).
Dene Ward