Pleasing God

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.   And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."     Mark 1.9-11

At baptism of Jesus, after He came up out of the water, God declared - ‘This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Mark 1.11).

Have you ever noticed that it says (1) God loves Him and (2) God is pleased with Him.  And this is before Jesus ever did anything!  This was at the start of His public ministry, so He had not done anything yet!  Hadn’t taught anything publicly yet.  Hadn’t preached a sermon yet.  Hadn’t healed any one yet.  Hadn’t walked on water yet.  Hadn’t fed the 5000 men yet.  Hadn’t done anything yet.

And God still declared - My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  How could God say this?  Because of Who Jesus is, not just what He has done or will do.  God loves Jesus and is pleased with Him because He is simply His Son.

And so it is with us.  God loves us and is pleased with us not JUST for what we have done or will do.  We can easily get into the habit of thinking that we have to DO something to please God or to earn His love.  No, He loves us and is pleased with us simply because we are His children.  Just like we love our children simply because of who they are.

So it is not JUST about keeping rules and regulations - that is good and needed too.  But we can know that we are accepted and loved because we are God’s children first and foremost.  We are well pleasing to God already!  When God looks at us, He sees His Son Jesus.  Amazing grace!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.     Eph 1.3-6