“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” – Mark 1:11
Whose child are you?
A while back, right after Christmas, I saw a couple of very touching videos. Each of the videos was of foster children receiving the wonderful Christmas gift of being adopted into their foster family. That Christmas day, they received the gift of being told they were loved.
They received the gift of being called someone’s son or daughter.
Our verse today is from Jesus’ baptism. After Jesus came out of the water the Spirit descended like a dove onto Him and a voice from Heaven, God the Father, said,
“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
The Son of God had come into the world to redeem and save His people…to redeem and save you. In His baptism, Jesus joined with us. It was a baptism for sinners. He had not sinned, but He was numbered with the sinners. He was numbered with us.
Now, in baptism, we are adopted into the family of Christ.
Your sins have been washed away and God calls you His child! Having been washed in the waters of baptism and cleansed of all your sin, these words of the Father now are said to you,
“You are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
It may seem strange. Those words were said about the perfect Son of God. How can they be said to you? You have been made new. You have had your sins removed. Christ’s righteousness has been put on You. You are God’s child. So, YES! Those words are for you, now.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending Your beloved Son so that I could be washed in the waters of baptism and welcomed into Your family. When I feel lost or lonely, worthless or hopeless, help me to remember that I am Your child, that You love me, and that through faith in Christ You are well pleased with me.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” – John 1:12-13
Who does Jesus say you are?
I love this passage. How amazing that we should be called the children of God and that is what we are. Through faith in Jesus, we have been adopted as God’s children. We are in the family. We are heirs of eternity. We are loved by God!
Adoption Adoption is an interesting and very revealing description to use. Children who are adopted are not naturally born into the family, yet are giving all the rights and benefits of a natural-born child.
How did we become adopted children?
According to Jesus, we weren’t born into it. Some of the people of Israel thought that simply because they were born an Israelite, they were set. Jesus says it’s not about your natural birth. Sorry.
We also didn’t become God’s children by the will of the flesh or the will of man. Our sinful flesh would never will to be God’s child and we would never choose God (See Romans 3). Rather, God chose us.
Adoption is helpful here once again. Think of a baby being adopted. They don’t choose to be adopted. They have no say in the matter nor do they contribute to the adoption. Their adoptive parents make the decision and pay the cost.
A Great Comfort I love this passage. It not only tells me that I am God’s child, but it tells me that He is the one who made that happen. It wasn’t my effort or even my choice. It was God. He chose me and He paid the cost through Jesus Christ. So, I can rest assured in that comfort rather than being worried of whether I have done enough or really meant my choice.
This passage says the same for you and for all who believe in Jesus. You are God’s child, not because you did anything or even chose Him, but because He chose you out of His great love and grace.
Heavenly Father,
How great it is that I can call You, Father. Thank You for loving me, choosing me, and making my Your child.