"Matthew 3:16-17 recounts the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” God validated his son before he healed a single person, before he changed water into wine, before he raised anyone from the dead. He was please with his Son before he did any signs, wonders or miracles. For those who were raised with parents with high expectations for you that you never felt like you achieved, thus causing you to never feel accepted...know that your Father in heaven is pleased with you just because you are His. Once you have received the free gift of sonship, you belong to God. You are His child. God is not waiting on your performance to validate you-He is pleased with you already merely because you are in the family." -paraphrased from Pastor Ron Carpenter's Wednesday night teaching 03/27/2013.
As I let these words really penetrate my heart, I realized that all of us, in some sense, have an achievement mentality. We think the more we do for God, the more He approves of us, or conversely we might feel like we could never do enough to meet God's approval so why even try...and we settle for what feels right in our own eyes, who the world says we are...far less than the inheritance of that of a child of the King.
When I heard these very well known words from a very well know passage in the Bible again it was as if I was hearing them for the very first time. Suddenly I flashed back to last Saturday at Operation Go where we repeatedly, lovingly taught each child that "God had always loved them" and "there was nothing they could do, good or bad, to change God's love for them". Suddenly, I was little Adolfo or Sofia sitting on the tarp, needing to hear that my Father was pleased with me. Hearing Him proclaim "You're mine...I bought you with a price far greater than gold, you accepted my gift, unwrapped it, made it your own, made it part of you, and I couldn't be more thrilled to call you my child."
Could it be that all the craziness in the world today stems from the lack of knowing our true identity? Unable to receive the free gift that God has already given because we feel there are strings attached. Thinking that we have to do more and be greater for God to truly accept us, or conversely, feeling that we will never measure up to God's standards so we stop trying all together? Have we been lulled into the social ebbs and flows, and rocked into a deep sleep while our true inheritance moves farther and farther from us forgetting that we were called to be an heir to the King of Kings?
What terrible lies to which we have fallen captive. What a wasted forfeiture of the divine when we settle for anything less than the inheritance that is ours as children of God.
But, the right perspective can turn it all around. Just one glimpse of our true destiny is all we need to readjust our course. Seeing ourselves how God sees us changes everything.
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