Blog

God Himself said it. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
How do you feel when your father says something like that about you? Some people are fortunate enough to be able to answer that question. Many people are not. In which group are you? In which group is your child? When will that change?
I know that God was speaking about Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the perfect Son, the Holy One of Israel, the Perfection of Beauty. But I will propose that God’s reason for making this statement was not the fact that Christ was perfect, but the fact that Jesus was His Son. We know of two occasions when God the Father said something like this, audibly, with others present. The first time was at Jesus’ baptism, just before Jesus had to endure 40 days of intense temptation and struggle. The next time was on the Mount of Transfiguration, shortly before the passion week and Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. We don’t know how many other times His Father said it to Him privately. But Jesus KNEW His Father was pleased with Him.
Does my son know? Does my daughter know? What a gift it is to them if they do! I believe that it is one of the most important gilts, if not the very best gift, that we can impart to our children. That they know assuredly that Dad is “glad I’m his”.
We’ll have to face it. We can’t be pleased with every thing that our child says or does. We are not that perfect and they aren’t either. None of us can look at our son or daughter and claim perfection. Our Dad couldn’t either. But in God’s perfect example in His Word, He showed us what to say:
1. He declared His love, unequivocally. “Thou art My Beloved Son”.
2. He expressed HIS pleasure in Jesus’ PERSON. “…I am well pleased”. He said this before Jesus had accomplished much as yet. Again, it was Jesus’ SONSHIP that God was exulting over.
Try these sayings on for size:
– I Love You
– I am proud of what you are becoming/have become
– I am proud of what you stand for
– I admire your choices
– I am so glad that you are a part of my life.
– I am so glad that God granted you to me to be my son/daughter.
– I’m glad you’re mine.
There are a Thousand more things that can be said. If some things cannot de said from an honest heart today, say another one. But also bear in mind that actually saying something can make it true, just by saying it. And then it produces that result in the one to whom it is said, too.
In my observation it is often the person that least deserves these words of affirmation, WHEN they least deserve them, that needs them most sorely. So don’t wait till the words are highly deserved. Say it today.