Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are focusing on teaching our kids what love is. God has assigned us the role of teaching them about love, to lead and be their example, to help them see by words and actions that authenticity is the only way to understand love, especially His love. Real love and intimacy require vulnerability and sincerity. And God’s Word is the original love letter from His heart to ours.
Today, we’re going to look at the first event in Jesus’ life that launched His ministry and started His road to the cross: His baptism. Now, you might ask … what does Jesus’s baptism have to do with love? Well, it’s really about what happened at Jesus’s baptism … listen as I read . …
The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.” (Matthew 3:16-17 MSG)
Did you hear the words of love and affirmation God spoken over Jesus? Imagine for a moment what John witnessed? The Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—all present at this historic event. Now, listen once again, and afterwards, I’ll tell you how you and I are connected to this moment.
Whenever we choose to enter into a relationship with Jesus, the reconnection of our spirits to His is completed. Please know then, that He will, for the rest of your life, look at you and say, “This is my son, this is my daughter, chosen and marked by my love, the delight of my life.”
I’m betting that is exactly the way you look at your child. But you need to know this is how God sees you. And if you can accept and receive that is the way your Heavenly Father sees you, you will then be able to pass that truth on to your kids. If you believe it, they will more likely come to believe it as well.
Repeat this truth out loud right now … I am chosen … I am marked … by my Father’s love ... and I am the delight of His life. … Say it to Him … You have chosen me … You have marked me … by Your love … and I am the delight of Your life.
Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You that You chose me, thank You that my life is marked by Your love. Thank You that I am the delight of Your life. Help me to show my kids that You and I, together, feel that way about them. As above, so below.”