You Are My Beloved Son, You Are My Delight

 

You Are My Beloved Son, You Are My Delight (Mark 1:4-11)

“Then one day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John there in the Jordan River. The moment Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending on him, and a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son; you are my Delight.” (Mark 1:9-11)

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I find myself among the throngs of people who have come to see this man, John -- the one they call the Baptizer. Everybody says he’s the Next Big Thing, maybe even the one for whom the world has been longing. 

We are all longing for something, aren’t we? We are longing for meaning and purpose in life. We are longing for acceptance. We are longing to be part of something great.

Deep down, even if we can’t put our finger on it or don’t want to admit it, we are longing for God. 

How can I satisfy these deep longings of my soul? Where can I turn? Who will give to me that which my soul truly desires? I look for love in my marriage and family; and as beautiful and wonderful as they are, still there is more that my heart wants. I pour myself into my work; and as much as I love what I do, still it’s not enough to satisfy my restless soul. I ride the waves of people who lead our nation and who promise to set things right; but, alas, they have only let me down time and again. And again.

How can I satisfy the deep longings my my soul? Where can I turn? Who will give to me that which my soul truly desires?

Then I see him. Jesus, that is his name. He, too, was among the masses of people who came to John to be baptized. Only, his baptism was different. Heaven opened up for Jesus, literally. And I heard it – the voice of God speaking to this man, Jesus! “You are my beloved Son; you are my Delight.”

Oh, how I long to hear that spoken of me! Oh, how I long to bask in the love and delight of my heavenly Father! Oh, how I long to know that I am a beloved child of God!

If I want what Jesus has, maybe I should follow him. If I want to know the unconditional favor of God, maybe Jesus will show it to me. Maybe, if I walk with Jesus, my restless heart will finally find that which gives it the rest it seeks.

That’s it, then. I’m going to walk with Jesus and see where this takes me.

As I walk with you, Jesus, let me never forget that my true identity is that of a child of God, dearly loved.

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During the season of Lent, I am "walking with Jesus" through the Gospel According to Mark. Feel free to join me on this walk, so together we can discover what it is like to witness Jesus' miracles, to experience his powerful and compassionate presence, to watch as he confronts those who distort the ways of God, and to learn what it is to follow him, to walk with him, to believe in him. You can come back to this blog every day, or if you would like to have these daily reflections sent directly to you, you may enter your email address in the box at the top right side of this page.