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Today’s feast of Jesus’ baptism is a spiritual trailhead with paths branching off in every direction. All of them are good and worth our time but we can only take one today. I would like to explore the trail that gives us a peek into the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the intimate and sacred moment when we hear the voice of the Father saying, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased; listen to him” These words grab our attention immediately because they come directly from the heart of God. In them, we see how God loves and what he sees as he looks on Jesus with complete and unconditional approval.
This love of the Father, this acceptance as the dearly beloved is not just an interesting historical happening. It is something every human person longs for. Once we address our physical needs like food, water. clothing, and shelter, we want something more. One of the things we naturally desire is the approval, acceptance, and respect of others. Children are eager for the approval of their parents and other authority figures. The elderly want a measure of respect for their past contributions and for what they presently have to offer. We all want to be accepted and valued as part of a community, whether that happens in family, friendship, or some other group. Even the one who says, “I don’t care what other people think,” usually has some person, or group of people, he wants to please and make proud.
Sometimes we feel that the desire for approval or praise is a sign of vanity or weakness. But that’s not necessarily true. God made us for community, to give ourselves to each other and to care and nourish one another spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The idea of rugged individualism, the notion that I can be completely self-sufficient is relatively new and completely opposed to how God made us. The desire for approval is very good and natural but because of original sin, it has been corrupted and can easily become disordered. Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking “if only people would appreciate me or recognize the gifts I have, then I would be happy.” However, if the admiration of others automatically brought happiness, purpose, and worth to our lives, then the happiest people in the world would be celebrities, influencers, athletes, and anyone with fame. Hardly anyone on the planet gets more admiration and attention than they do, yet how many of them are deeply unhappy, unfulfilled, and insecure.
The problem with human admiration and acceptance is that it’s conditional. Those who have great popularity often feel that insecurity. They soon learn the hard way that everyone can love you today but tomorrow could care less or even hate your guts. If someone bases their value and goodness as a human on the praise and esteem of others, that person will soon be miserable and maybe much worse. This doesn’t mean praise and validation isn’t important or that we can’t give and receive it. But it should never be the foundation of our self-worth or the motivation which inspires us.
For whatever reason, the last few books I’ve read had to do with famous shipwrecks and the survivors who lived to tell the story agains all odds. Even though these stories took place in different oceans, hundreds of years apart, one major thing was the same in all of them. In each case, the shipwrecked souls talked about the terrible irony of experiencing incredible thirst while being surrounded by water. It would literally drive some people insane and they would drink the salt water which only made them more thirsty and actually sucked any remaining moisture out of their bodies. Those that lived were able to wait for fresh, life-giving water that came from the skies when it rained. The amount of pure water was very small and scarce in comparison to the sea around them but it was enough to sustain their life.
You and I are thirsty for approval, to be valued in a way the world simply cannot give. Worldly praise, esteem, and acceptance are all around us. It is so tempting to drink it deeply. If we do, it only makes us more thirsty. The more we go to this world for acceptance and approval, the more spiritually dehydrated we become. But true life-giving water does exist. There is someone who loves and values us despite our darkest moments and most glaring weaknesses. Remember the voice of the Father from the Gospel,“This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” By joining ourselves to Jesus, we gain the approval which counts and gives life. God loves us in the same way he loves his Son: completely, unconditionally, and forever. The approval of others is good, but it can never give an acceptance which will last. We have that approval right now by virtue of our baptism. You and I don’t earn the Father’s Love nor have we done anything to deserve it. In spite of our unworthiness, He gives it freely and unconditionally.
Think about this:
What sort of spiritual H2O are you drinking right now? Does it come from God or from the world? What would look different in your life if you believed God loved you unconditionally? How would it change your perspective? Would it make you more daring in living out your faith, knowing that you always had a loving God at your side? Imagine the freedom that would come with knowing that no matter what you did, successful or not, you could not lose the love and approval of God! How might it change the way you treated other people? Realizing the One who is madly in love with you is also loving them in the same way? Would it add passion to our faith, our prayer, our daily lives?
How good it must have felt for Christ as he came out of the water and heard the voice of his Father! If you have never heard that voice, I pray for you now, to know that God is crying out those same words every day, all the time. You are alive because God loves you, thinks of you and wants you here. Every moment of every day he is thinking of you specifically, he looks on you with love, he is smiling and crying and feeling everything you do. He wants us to know of his love for us fickle and sinful children, that is why he sent his beloved son in the first place, to shatter our deafness and indifference.
When you find your faith tested, perhaps by sickness or financial problems, by struggles in your family, or even abandonment by the people who should be there for you, remember you belong to God. When you are tempted to drink the world’s water of popularity and acceptance, remember it will not satisfy you or bring you life. We belong to God and he can never stop loving us. Because of Jesus we hear the Father's voice, “You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter. With you I am well pleased.” Shocking, undeserved, but ultimately and always true! Let us drink deeply of this saving water and then bring others to it as well!
