“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him bodily in the form of a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22
A few years ago, Eastridge did a Lenten study entitled,
“Faith Seeking Understanding: Temptation in the Desert” by M. Craig Barnes. One
of the chapters made a big impression on me. It was called, “The Surprise of
Being Beloved.” In it, the author said, “Jesus did not receive the designation
of being the beloved son with whom God is so pleased until he identified with
humanity in his baptism.” He said that because this identification was so total
that it applied to humanity too. We are also the beloved of God, who is very
pleased with us.
He went on to say that no matter what we do, good or bad, we
still remain God’s beloved. His next point blew me away: we can’t make God more
pleased with us than he already is no matter how many good things we do. That’s
how beloved we already are. What is your reaction to this kind of love?
Prayer: Lord, may we respond to your unconditional love with
a resounding “I love you too” and commit to “living as God has called us to
live—ethically, justly, compassionately.”
Nancy Brumbaugh
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