Today’s Bible Journaling comes from Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” (KJV) In this month of celebrating fathers, we look at our Heavenly Father.
God is our Heavenly Father and He loves us more than we can ever imagine. As I was thinking about this and looking at our Scripture passage I began to do my art journaling and ended up doing something other than I wanted to do, and I think God wanted me to go in a different direction than what I had intended. What I had intended was a pretty, speckled background overlaid with pretty roses. However, it didn’t come out that way and looked a little more like a mess. Then I got to thinking. God meets us in the middle of our mess and loves us just like we are. That spoke volumes to me!
In our Scripture today we see Jesus, God’s Son, beginning His ministry by setting an example for us, and God, the Father, and God, the Holy Spirit, are both giving their approval. We see here, in picture form, the Trinity. Even though the Bible never uses the actual word, “Trinity”, the concept is shown in so many instances throughout Scripture. Jesus, God the Son, is being obedient to God, the Father; and God, the Holy Spirit, is sealing the Father’s approval upon Jesus. This is God’s love shown, not only for Jesus, but also His love is shown for us.
The Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins. He shows us His love by providing a means for us to escape the penalty of death that is required as atonement for our sins. Jesus shows us His obedience to His Father as an example. Water Baptism is an outward showing of what has happened to us on the inside when we ask Jesus to be our Savior and to live in us. When we are plunged under the water, it signifies the washing of our sins by Jesus’ blood, we are, in essence, under the blood. When we come up from under the water we are washed, cleansed from all our sin, completely clean, just as Jesus’ blood has cleansed us from all our sin.
God loves us even when we don’t love Him. (I John 4:19) He doesn’t require that we get ourselves all cleaned up before we approach Him. He meets us in the middle of our mess – dirty, confused, unlovable, rejected, sinful, and feeling worthless. There is nothing we can do to keep God from loving us. No act, no thought, no attitude, can keep God from showering us with His love.
God is my Heavenly Father, my Best Friend, my Anchor in the storm, the Rock upon whom I can stand for a firm foundation in my faith. He is the One who will love me unconditionally. I don’t deserve it, but He loves me. There is nothing I can do to earn His love, yet He loves me anyway.
My responsibility is to show Him how much I love Him by living in a manner that gives Him glory and honor. I am to live in obedience to His will and follow His law of love, and He showers me with His love!
What an amazing, awesome God we serve! He loves us no matter what!
donnasmusings 