Matthew 3:17 "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
My oldest child is not 20 and a junior in college. My middle child is 17 and a junior in high school. My youngest is 13 and in 8th grade.
As parents, my wife and I have seen a clear progression as it relates to the growth of our children. In the first year or so before the begin to run around, most of your communication is pure love. You want to do everything you can to let that child know they are safe and protected and loved. They rely on your for everything and want nothing more than to be loved. Then, once they begin to be able to walk and communicate better, it seems like you spend the next few years with lot of "No", "Don't do that", "Put that down", "Stop!". We do these things to protect our children from the dangers that they have yet to fully understand. Then, at some point, maybe elementary school, those change to more of a directional instruction. They seem to understand the basic dangers, so now its more about helping them navigate school and friends and fun. But then, somewhere around the teenage years, it changes again to things like "You did what?" "What were you thinking?" "Didn't we teach you better than that?" "Don't you know not to do that?" We are not moving into a new stage with our oldest child that is just beginning to take shape as he becomes a man. This is more about moving into an advisory capacity. They have to make their own decisions about how to navigate their own life and you are just there to help them when they fall or help them when they reach out. I would imagine that the rest of our life will look a lot like that.
But, through all those stages, my wife and I have never stopped saying those most important words that any and every child longs to hear from their parents "I love you!". Actually, my 16-year old has verbally expressed that he would like us to "love him less". But, I think he knows at this point that we will not oblige that request.
So, when God spoke those words in Matthew 3:17, you have to know that was exactly what Jesus was hoping to hear. I have to believe that even Jesus needed those words. This was the beginning of his ministry. He was taking that leap from Carpenter to Savior of the World. How scary must that have been? But, remember how much confidence those words give to a child. Remember how good you felt as you were ready to go off to school and your Mom and/or Dad says right before you feet hit the pavement..."I love you! Have a great day today!" Remember that leap in your step? Remember how you felt you could conquer the world? That must have been how Jesus felt as his feet were getting ready to hit the pavement to preach his message of love and forgiveness and grace. Unstoppable!
I hope you hear those words today! I hope they give you the same confidence they used to give you when you were a child. Make sure you find someone today and tell them that you love them, knowing how much good it will do in their lives. And, if you don't have anyone near you today to tell you how much they love you, know that God speaks those words to you every day. How do you know that? Because he was willing to give his son to die upon a cross for you and for me. Why? because he loved us. That's it. Not because you earned it. Certainly not because I deserve it. It's just because. Just like the love a parent in those first few years where their child does nothing to deserve their love. They just receive it from their parents because they exist. The parents give it unconditionally because of the depth of the love they have for that child. So, you are loved today!
I pray that He is well pleased with me and my actions today!
No comments:
Post a Comment