January 3, 2014 Readings: Genesis 6-7, Matthew 3, Psalm 2:7-12, Proverbs 1:6-7

As Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism, the Father looked down from heaven on his obedient Son and gave his imprimatur on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 3:17, the Father said, “ This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus was the only person who has ever drawn air on this earth who was able to please the Father fully.  The rest of us have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  But Jesus was the righteous and sinless Son, and with him the Father was pleased. 

The greatest truth for sinners like us is that we can be righteous in Christ.  The sinless Christ bore our sins in his body and paid for them fully.  When we turn from our sins and trust Christ, our sins are fully forgiven and we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. 

Think about that.  The Father looked down on the Son and was “well-pleased.”  Now, I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ and God deals with me not on the basis of who I am but on the basis of the righteousness of Christ.  God is pleased with me because I am in Christ. 

That is true when I succeed or when I fail.  That is true when I feel good or feel bad. My relationship with the Father does not depend on what I do but on my relationship with the Son.

That does not mean I can live any way that I please.  It just means that my motive for serving God is not so that I can somehow become worthy or accepted.  I am accepted in Christ.  I bring my body under submission so that I can better glorify God and serve him.  Living the right way does not earn me points with God, but it brings honor to the God who clothed me in Christ. 

Psalm 2:11-12 tells us to “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son.”  I often struggle with my own failures and my fear of what others will think or what they might say about me. But I must remember that I am loved and accepted in Christ.

Even as I struggle and fail, I need to keep my heart focused on the unshakable, eternal, unconditional love of the Father. 

Father, I thank you for the blood of Christ that washed away my sins and the robes of righteousness in which you have clothed me.  I want to do better, to walk in righteousness and in the fullness of the Spirit as a response of love to you, as a way to bring glory to you and so that I may serve you better.  But I thank you that I do not have to earn your love.