Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)
Before I could write anything about this, I did a lot of introspective prayer about how father issues have affected me. Asking God to show me what to bring to him became a fresh discovery of my need to know him. But it also reinforced how clearly God reveals his desire for all believers to know we are the beloved children of God who are welcomed into God’s kingdom with joy.
The biggest thing I can hope to accomplish by this sharing is that someone who has been turning away from God as Father because of dad-wounds would realize that he is the Father “in heaven” who heals our wounds from fathers “on earth”.
So, while others try to recreate a god in their own image to soothe the devastating effects of abusive dads, I want to shout from the rooftops that “our Father in heaven” is the person we must run to and know for who he is. It is the ultimate Father who heals our father-wounds.
When we do humble ourselves to run to God for help, we not only find out what he is like as the perfect Father, but we discover that what he said to Jesus at his baptism (and again at his transfiguration) was not only how he felt about his son, but what he was calling people into as his children.
Yes, a comprehensive understanding of Scripture shows us a God who adopts sinners as his “beloved children” and welcomes them with joy. One of the most beautiful prophecies of what God would do through the coming of Jesus Christ his Son is described like this, “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Jesus is “God with us”. He has proven himself mighty to save us out of the domain of darkness and bring us into his kingdom. He rejoices to find his lost sheep and bring us home. He quiets us with his love. And he tells us the things he breathed-out into his word, “that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
It doesn’t matter whether New Year’s Day 2025 means anything to us or whether it’s just the same-old stuff. But God’s joyful love for his Son invites us to know his joy and love for us as we walk with Jesus Christ in faith.
© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
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