ACCEPTED!

Hearing a familiar voice behind him, John turned to look. To John’s surprise, his cousin stood at the edge of the river. A crowd had converged upon that place as they had nearly every day since this bizarre and wild man dressed in camel’s fur was preaching repentance and baptizing people in the river. John’s appearance and boldness were reminiscent of Elijah, the prophet of old. In his booming voice, John introduced his cousin to the crowd, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

As Jesus stepped into the water, John stepped back. Lowering his face, John lifted a hand motioning Jesus to stop. In nearly a whisper, he questioned, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

Jesus responded, “Please allow this to be. It is fitting for you and I, cousin, to fulfill all righteousness.”

John understood by Jesus’ words that He had come to fulfill God’s covenant and establish a new one. And so, John took up his destiny and baptized Jesus.

When Jesus came up from the water, the sky opened, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove alighting upon Him. Suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

You are God’s good pleasure, and you are a child of His divine favor!

What better words could a child ever hear from their father? God the Father was telling Jesus publicly that He was ESTEEMED and WORTHY of LOVE. As a son and as a man Jesus was ACCEPTED, APPROVED, and a PLEASURE. Jesus was BELOVED!

Listen to this: You are God’s good pleasure, and you are a child of His divine favor! The Father orchestrated this by sending His own dearly BELOVED son so that we could become His BELOVED children!

“…grace, by which He [God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ] made us accepted in the Beloved.” ~ Ephesians 1:6b

Here, the word “accepted” means highly favored. It is the same word used by Gabriel, the angel, when he addressed Mary about Jesus’ birth, “Rejoice, HIGHLY FAVORED ONE…” and “You have found FAVOR with God”.

Can you imagine being considered by God in such high regard? And here is the stunning truth: YOU ARE! We (YOU and me) are HIGHLY FAVORED, ESTEEMED by Heavenly Father, WORTHY of His great love. By our Father’s GRACE – we are His JOYFUL PLEASURE, He has endowed us with His APPROVAL and ACCEPTANCE as His BELOVED IN His BELOVED son, Jesus!

This reality is not based on our credentials. It is not based on performance. Instead, it’s based on ONENESS. We have found favor with Father God because we are IN the BELOVED (Jesus). ONE with Him. And Jesus is ONE with Father. Every inherited endowment Jesus has from the Father, I have too. Jesus is highly favored. So am I!

“I [Jesus] in them [you and me], and You [Father] in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” ~ John 17:23

God the Father loves YOU in the same way He loves Jesus! We share the same intimate love.

Did you catch that?

So much of our standard of love and acceptance is based on performance. And this mindset influences our view of God. Would not God love and favor the most those who live the closest to perfection? It’s sometimes subtle, but this thinking impedes intimacy and leaves us in a state of inferiority and reluctance in our approach to the Heavenly Father.

In Jesus, we have been made perfect (Hebrews 10:14). You are loved by God, not for your credentials, but for Jesus’ credentials! Jesus has perfected you. And so, you are loved by God just as much as Jesus is loved by God! ONENESS.

So rejoice, HIGHLY FAVORED one! You are BLESSED with EVERY spiritual blessing! You are CHOSEN in Jesus before the world was created! Your position as God’s child is secure since you are legally ADOPTED into Jesus’ family! And you are ACCEPTED in the Beloved!

You must be pretty special!

Someone once told me, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.” Consider your value.

Receive the honor. Accept it. Believe it. Let it transform your mind and change your words and conduct, your life – manifesting the presence of Jesus. Confident! Secure! Accepted!

“Accepted in the Beloved”