“You are my Son, whom I love”
(Luke 3:22)
Reflection:
God spoke these words to Jesus at His baptism in the River Jordan. Immediately afterwards He went into the desert where He faced the three major temptations known to man. All of them had something to do with identity –and it was from the secure foundation of His own identity in God that He was able to recognise and refute them.
We find a similar situation in the very first Psalm which stands as a gateway into the rest of the Psalms.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2)
The person who is blessed is the one who has established their identity as a man or woman of God. That means that they can recognise and say ‘No!’ to the advice and ways of the world and instead base their lives and living on the word of God.
The need for and reality of this new identity is stressed by Jesus and Paul.
- “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3)
- “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”(Romans 12:2)
The key question, therefore, is ‘Who am I ?’ Am I a man or woman of God and living according to His word and ways – or am I still a child of the world and subject to its influence and ways? As Jesus said,
“No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24)
Response:
Who am I?
Prayer:
Lord God I acknowledge You as my Lord and Saviour. Please help me to delight in the revelation of Your love and will in Scripture and to live in Your Way. Amen.
——————-
The Soaring Eagle 