I am Your beloved son, and You are well pleased with me

Yesterday at church, we were hearing about how much the Father loves us, and it came to me again, how many of us disqualify ourselves from this. I mean I know He loves Joe and Mary, but I am not worthy of it. And it’s a lie, He has made me worthy (Colossians 1:12)! Part of the problem, is that many of us have been told over, and over and over that we are no good, that will never amount to anything, and this stuff has stuck to us like mud.

I felt led to go forward and respond to the message, we have the freedom to do that in this church. We had heard about the Father saying to Jesus “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). And I remembered years ago giving a talk where a son and a daughter of mine were in the congregation. And was going on and on from the front, about how special my son is, and as she was primed to, my daughter chimed in “What about me?”

The point is, that if I as an earthly father would not show such favouritism to only one of my children, how much more would our heavenly Father not show favouritism to One of His children. And you and I are His children! So then what He speaks to Jesus like this, He also speaks to you and to me! It is hard to believe at times, because of the lies, and in order to counteract them, we need to tell ourselves over and over that we are His beloved son (beloved daughter), and that indeed He is well pleased with us. And we need to say it until we believe it, and then we need to say it because we believe it!

Father, I know how difficult it was for me for the longest time to look in my imagination, into Jesus’s eyes, and I know as I lead the congregation to say to You “I am Your beloved son (daughter), and You are well pleased with me,” that there were many who found it difficult. It’s because we have embraced the lies. But as an act of the will we need to choose to believe what heaven says about us rather than what others say about us. And I need to say what is written in the title of this post, because I need to believe it, and I need to believe it because it is true even if I don't (when I don't) feel it. Thank You Lord in Your precious name amen