John the Baptist was certainly drawing lots of attention to himself! In these chapters he is asked again and again if he is Elijah, or the one sent to save them, or Moses. Everyone is certainly confused. But John seems confident in his purpose-- the one who is preparing the hearts of the Jews to meet Jesus. He has many followers of his own, and is traveling around telling everyone to repent.And here Jesus comes, asking to be baptized by John! I'm sure John was confused. Jesus wasn't supposed to be following John, it was supposed to be the other way around! But John does as Jesus asks, and oh what a beautiful thing happens!
God as Father declares that He is pleased with Christ. But wait-- He hasn't even done any miracles yet! He hasn't even begun His ministry! What has He done to get such unabashed approval from the Creator of the Universe? God comes down in an undeniable way to show Jesus His love and announce His Sonship before all the people present.
What an amazing gift God gives Jesus in this moment. He is letting us in on an intimate moment with Him and His Son-- where He tells Jesus, You're my Son and I love you no matter what. This is the relationship that we were always meant to have with our God. As a son to his father, God loves us unconditionally. God's love for us is not contingent on our performance, on how many teams we are on, how much we give, how much we pray, or how often we read the Bible. He loves us because He loves us. Because He is love. All those other things? The service and the giving and the studying... they come as an overflow of being loved by Him. By truly knowing and understanding His never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love of us. What freedom! To know that God doesn't expect you to perform. Just to follow His leading as it comes, accepting our identity as His loved children.
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