Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today, let’s examine the Father’s loving affirmation of His Son.

Today’s scripture, Matthew 3:16-17 (NLT) shares…
[16] After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Consider…
I am blessed to have five children, three daughters and two sons. I dearly love all my children. On each of their birthdays I let them know that I thank God for entrusting them to me, or said another way, I am grateful to be their dad. As I mentioned at the beginning of this week, my youngest son is a December baby. As I did my annual reflection and appreciation on how precious he is to me, I thought of today’s verse.

Like our Heavenly Father, I remember my heart smiling with pride when my baby boy was baptized. I also recall a similar smile on my face when he participated in a Christian leadership camp and was identified as a natural leader by the camp staff. There were also a mouthful of teeth displayed when my beloved Son praised the Lord with great passion, while singing in the youth choir. As you can see, countless precious memories fill my mind about the blessing God gave me 29 years ago.

When I read today’s passage, I see the same overwhelming love and joy of our Heavenly Father about His precious Son. However, if you look closer you will notice the Father’s declaration was in response to Jesus’ obedience, which was chronicled in Matthew 3:14-15 (NLT). It said…
[14] But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” [15] But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.

This affirming moment of a proud Father let’s us know that God really loves and values obedience. I can confidently say that because Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT) says…
[5] You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. [9] Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Notice, God elevated Jesus because of Christ’s humble obedience. This makes me think of 1 Peter 5:6 (NLT), which exhorts…
[6] So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.

As I write this, it occurs to me that obedience is humble submission to another’s will.

That revelation makes me hear Jesus say in Matthew 12:50 (NIV)
[50] For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

That means, obedient children are Jesus’ siblings.

That gives me a new appreciation for Ephesians 6:1-3 (NLT) which instructs…
[1] Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. [2] “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: [3] If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Remember I realized that obedience is humble submission? Well, Paul’s exhortation aligns with Jesus’ beatitude shared in Matthew 5:5 (NLT)…
[5] God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

There’s longevity in obedience. Said a better way, there’s eternity in humbly submitting to our Heavenly Father’s will! I believe everytime we obey the LORD, He still says, “This is my dearly loved Child, who brings me great joy.”

Of course when thinking of God’s affirmation of His Son, I have to share Jesus Transfiguration testimony. Luke 9:28-36 (NLT) shares…
[28] About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. [29] And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. [30] Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. [31] They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. [32] Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. [33] As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” [34] But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. [35] Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” [36] When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

There’s way too many observations from this passage to discuss in this post, but allow me to highlight just a couple.

First, Jesus’ appearance changed as He prayed. That, coupled with His white clothes and the fact that Elijah and Moses began talking with about His Heavenly homecoming, makes me believe Jesus was praying in the Heavenly realm.

That’s important, because Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT) tells us…
[19] And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Before today, I missed the connection of Jesus’ transfiguration testimony, with our heavenly access opportunity. But I now see how God allowed Peter, James and John to witness this precious moment as inspiration that we can be in the presence of God by being with His Son!

The second and final observation from Jesus’ transfiguration testimony is the Father’s affirmation is sufficient. My conclusion comes from this exchange…
Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” [34] But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. [35] Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” [36] When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Reading that I noticed, Peter went from an eagerness to telling everyone about his brush with fame, to listening to Jesus’ Father proclaim, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”

The Holy Spirit used this transfiguring moment to explain that sometimes God shows us things to get our attention, so that we can clearly hear what He is saying.

This reminds me of Paul’s testimony in Galatians 1:15-19 NLT
[15] But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him [16] to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. [17] Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. [18] Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. [19] The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother.

This tells me that sometimes God wants us to initially conceal what He reveals. I believe that’s because He wants His word to be hidden in our heart before let it sprout for others to hear.

The thought of hiding God’s word aligns with Psalms 119:11-16 (NLT)…
[11] I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. [12] I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. [13] I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. [14] I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. [15] I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. [16] I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.

The Holy Spirit is telling me that God wants us to know what He’s telling us comprehensively internally before sharing it publicly. Said another way, thoroughly listen to God before uttering one word about Him.

Hopefully this shared reflection connection of a father’s affirming love of his son, inspires you to…

• Be an obedient child, humbly submit to the Father’s will
• Recognize that being with Jesus allows us to be in the Father’s Heavenly presence
• Thoroughly listen to God before saying anything about Him

…I believe when we do these things, we too will hear our Heavenly Father say, “This is my dearly loved Child, who brings me great joy.”

Today’s Song is…
Well Done

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)