Beloved children of God

​1-7-23

My devotion for today is based on Isaiah 42:1 - Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

We have begun the season of Epiphany. During this time, we celebrate Jesus' Baptism. We remember the day He went down to the Jordan River and was baptized by His cousin John. We also remember our own baptisms on this day. There is something strange about Jesus' Baptism, though. We all know why we were baptized: we were sinners. But why was Jesus baptized? He wasn't a sinner; He never did a wrong thing in His life. He wasn't an enemy of God. He was God's own Son. So why was He baptized?

When Jesus was baptized, He began His public ministry to the world. This is the work Isaiah alludes to in our Old Testament reading today. When Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven and said, "You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased"

Jesus is the Servant of the Lord. He is the One who has done all of these things for us: He fulfilled God's Law perfectly; He went to the cross and died for our sins, and He rose from the dead three days later to defeat sin, death, and the devil on our behalf. He did these things because He loves us.

Now He calls us to follow Him in the same work for others. At our Baptism, that is one of the gifts we received: We are God's beloved Children. We can now share in the service of God's people. This is a blessed gift God gives to us. Let us embrace it wholeheartedly and live unto Him throughout this year.
​
Please pray with me: Heavenly Father, You have called us to Yourself through the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son Jesus. May we cling to Him in faith, loving You forever. In Jesus' blessed name, I pray. Amen.