Luke 3:21-22 says:
"When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
This event in the life of Jesus has really spoken to me in the last couple of days. First of all, it's just a really cool scene. Crowds of people are flocking to John the Baptist to see what this whole baptism thing is about and are compelled to turn their lives around (or repent) with the anticipation that the Kingdom of God is coming, and it's in the midst of all this that the word in flesh walks into the water.
I wander how many people actually noticed Jesus? We are told John did and he was quick to point out that this was the dude, but what had Jesus actually done? What had he achieved? Why would have anyone noticed him?
It's at this point that the story really speaks to me.
"You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
This is the Father's message to his son. Unconditional love. His love is not based on performance or results or how much love he gets in return, he just loves him because he is his son. As I said, Jesus hadn't 'done anything for God' yet. No one had been healed. No one had heard the good news. No one had been raised from the dead. In fact, the first 30 years of Jesus life were so uneventful, that they have not even been recorded!
So what's my point?
Well, the love that the Father had for the Son is the same love that God has for us today. This is the love that God speaks over me every day, but so often I don't receive it. I can't receive it. I don't deserve it. I'm not holy enough, I don't pray enough, I haven't brought enough people to Christ etc etc. I find so many ways to discredit myself, telling God why he shouldn't love me but he does. My view of love can be so conditional. I beat myself up over what I have and haven't done for God and convince myself that God does the same. Don't get me wrong, praying, reading the bible, telling people about Jesus etc are important as we long to see God's kingdom advance, but this is not the gauge in which God measures his love for us.
I'm learning more and more about God's grace and how I just need to accept it. I don't pretend to understand it, but I'm choosing to believe it.
As Jesus came up out of the water, the Father saw his Son and couldn't hide his love for him. As we get out of bed every morning, God does the same thing!
I pray that your heart would be open to receiving God's love for you, especially when you don't feel like you deserve it!
Tuesday 20 February 2007
Friday 9 February 2007
Friday 2 February 2007
Discovering yourself!
It's weird to think that the person you are is not necessarily the person God intended you to be. I'm currently on a journey of discovery and am finding out some revolutionary things about myself. For so long I've been quiet, shy, reserved, unable to express emotion but seen as strong. This has always been who I am. That was the way God made me. This is how I thought it was going to be and I had to make the most of it, but since I allowed God to really enter my life 2 years ago, I've found that a lot of these character/personality types have been shaped and reinforced by experience (mostly negative) and my own defeatist attitude to life and to God's ability to change me. As I've let go of this version of myself, I'm finding my true self, the person I'm created to be, which seems to be more like I was as a child. Carefree, up to mischief, enjoying life, enjoying others, constantly learning, trusting my Daddy. It was in my teenage years where this was shut down by rejection and peer pressure. To have emotion was not cool. To express a different view was to be alienated. So I became a bit of a recluse or loner. Kept my head down. Said little. No emotion. Left alone. Content. But ultimately I was killing my soul and my heart was being blocked, leading to a mind driven personality. Controlled. Calculated. Safe. Or so I thought.
Jesus talked about a bit about this to his followers. He told them that to find life, they must lose it. I've always thought that this meant denying myself and choosing the hard or difficult option or even giving up the things I enjoy (which may be part of the process), but am instead finding that it is more about letting go of the person I've created and letting God speak into my identity, which is in Christ. This brings life to the full as I let go of the baggage that has held me down out of familiarity and comfort and embrace the unknown, which is scary, but worth it.
One such discovery I am currently making is that I'm actually an extrovert rather than an introvert. This may shock some of you, but I do get my energy from company and find that I learn best with others. I've always thought that because I'm not always loud and am comfortable on my own (which I am grateful for) that it made me an introvert, but have found that those things don't really give me life. Of course I like my own space and need to get away sometimes, but don't we all. Living in community has taught me how much I love and need others in my life and how important they are to my growth and maturity.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the person you are is not the final product. Its not a case of taking stock and just getting on with life. Its more than likely that the person you think you are has been created and controlled by external events, which have caused you to build walls around your heart, preventing God from working there, and you feel like this is how its always going to be and to ask God for change would sound ungrateful and scary. Let's face it, we find comfort in familiarity, even when we know its not good for us (a quick shout out to all you smokers out there).
My prayer and challenge to you is that you would ask God the difficult question of 'Do you see me in the way that I see myself' and allow God to answer. Then be prepared to let go of the person that has been created by the world around you and allow God to speak into you and breath life over your dry bones and unblock the wells of your heart. Change comes by Grace alone and our willingness to receive it. We cannot change ourselves, but we can put oursleves in positions for that to happen. Prayer is a good place to start.
Let God take you on a journey of discovery!
Grace and peace be with you always.
Jesus talked about a bit about this to his followers. He told them that to find life, they must lose it. I've always thought that this meant denying myself and choosing the hard or difficult option or even giving up the things I enjoy (which may be part of the process), but am instead finding that it is more about letting go of the person I've created and letting God speak into my identity, which is in Christ. This brings life to the full as I let go of the baggage that has held me down out of familiarity and comfort and embrace the unknown, which is scary, but worth it.
One such discovery I am currently making is that I'm actually an extrovert rather than an introvert. This may shock some of you, but I do get my energy from company and find that I learn best with others. I've always thought that because I'm not always loud and am comfortable on my own (which I am grateful for) that it made me an introvert, but have found that those things don't really give me life. Of course I like my own space and need to get away sometimes, but don't we all. Living in community has taught me how much I love and need others in my life and how important they are to my growth and maturity.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the person you are is not the final product. Its not a case of taking stock and just getting on with life. Its more than likely that the person you think you are has been created and controlled by external events, which have caused you to build walls around your heart, preventing God from working there, and you feel like this is how its always going to be and to ask God for change would sound ungrateful and scary. Let's face it, we find comfort in familiarity, even when we know its not good for us (a quick shout out to all you smokers out there).
My prayer and challenge to you is that you would ask God the difficult question of 'Do you see me in the way that I see myself' and allow God to answer. Then be prepared to let go of the person that has been created by the world around you and allow God to speak into you and breath life over your dry bones and unblock the wells of your heart. Change comes by Grace alone and our willingness to receive it. We cannot change ourselves, but we can put oursleves in positions for that to happen. Prayer is a good place to start.
Let God take you on a journey of discovery!
Grace and peace be with you always.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)