“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.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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