Good Shepherd Lutheran Church / Tuesday, January 26, 2021 / Categories: Publications, Daily Devotions Daily Devotion Mark 1:9-11 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[h] with you I am well pleased.” Every year on the first Sunday after Epiphany, January 6th, we typically read the story of the baptism of Jesus. This makes sense since the season of Epiphany is about the revealing and growing understanding of who Jesus is. It’s in the Baptism stories that we hear God’s powerful voice declaring that Jesus is God’s Son, that Jesus is Beloved, and that Jesus is well pleasing to God. Are you starting to get a clearer picture of Jesus’s identity? It is worth noting that God speaks these words BEFORE Jesus has begun his ministry. There have been no healing miracles, no walking on water, no powerful teachings. In other words Jesus is proclaimed child of God, beloved and well pleasing before he has really accomplished much. I would think it was from that place of proclamation—that solid identity spoken from God’s mouth—that Jesus was able to begin his ministry at all. Perhaps healing the sick, walking on water and raising the dead seem more doable when you have already heard these powerful words from God about who you are. But that’s what parents do for their kids, right? They love them right from the get-go. They don’t wait for accomplishments or worthiness. A child is loved simply because they exist. From that place of loving grace they begin their life journey. Hopefully you started your life in a family that loved and cared for you without condition. Sometimes in our families that can be complicated. What we ALL can find refuge in, however, is that these same words were spoken from God’s mouth about us on the day we were baptized, “you are my child, the beloved. With you I am well pleased.” We start our life with God from a place of grace, before we ever served as an usher or gave an offering or loved our neighbor, God declared we were loved. Perhaps with those words ringing in our ears, whatever ministry God is now calling us to will seem more doable. How will you live from your belovedness today? Previous Article Daily Devotion Next Article Daily Devotion Print 7265 Rate this article: 5.0 Leave a comment Name: Please enter a name. Email: Please enter an email address. Please enter a valid email address. Comment: Please enter comment. I agree This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data. You must read and accept this rules. Add comment