129 of 365 - Well Pleased

I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:11
 
Jesus comes to be baptized by John (HIs cousin), not because He is in need of repenting and forgiveness, but as part of what was spoken about Him by the prophets. When Jesus arrives, John knows instantly that He is the one.
 
We don’t know much about what happened between the miraculous events surrounding Jesus’s birth and the start of His public ministry (roughly 30 years). I wonder if He ever interacted with His cousin, John, or if His family often saw little glimpses of His holiness during his childhood and teen years. However it went down in the private spaces among the family and friends of Jesus, His holiness can’t be contained much longer.
 
Something incredible happens at the moment of Jesus’s baptism...

• The heavens were opened.
• The Spirit of God descended like a dove and rested on Jesus.
• A voice from heaven said, “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

​The trinity reunited again…the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit converging. It’s go time.
 
I often wonder what it must be like to have God publicly declare you His Child with whom He is well pleased. But here’s the cool thing: because of what Jesus accomplished for us, WE ARE His sons and daughters too. He calls us beloved. In us, He is well pleased…in all our slip-ups, sins, mistakes, shortcomings, and quirks, Jesus’s blood covers it all.  When God looks at us, He sees Jesus. We aren’t a failure or disappointment to Him. When we repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit descends on us too. And God looks at us and says, “[Insert YOUR name], my beloved son/daughter, with whom I am well pleased.”
 
Challenge: Write and repeat these words today, inserting your name…“[Insert name], my beloved son/daughter, with whom I am well pleased.” Reflect on these words from God to you.