Beloved: And with me Abba Is Well-Pleased

                                            Salt Water 

This past Sunday Christians everywhere celebrated The Baptism of Jesus. This year, we read Matthew's account. 

    When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold the heavens were open to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly, a voice came from heaven, saying' This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased.  Matt :3-16-17 NKJV

I pulled the last part of Sunday's reading from the pericope that was read yesterday, as it REALLY is what I heard the most yesterday. 

God the Father calls God the Son " beloved". Furthermore, *I AM* says that * I AM* is well-pleased with this person. 

Through Jesus the Son, each of us, at baptism, is adopted into God's Family. 

God says to us " This is My child; in them I am well-pleased. "

By grace and love, we are made kin with Godself. 

I know God loves me, but I struggle with self-love. Recently a wise person I know, and love said she wished that I'd show myself the same care that I show to another. 

She's correct: We all owe ourselves the same tender care that most of us offer to others. 

Especially lately, I've looked at certain parts of my life -- parts that I do not show people for fear that they will no longer love me. 

I've learned these past few years that some people who say they love me unconditionally actually quit speaking to me {unfollowing and blocking me on social media and not answering texts.} My " " crime" allegedly was being whom I am and expressing outrage at my personhood being stripped away by powerful people-- rights that are personal to over half the world's population. 

I've learned that human love-- be it romantic, familiar or any other sort of ways we humans love each other-- is fickle. 

As a result, I am even more careful with who gets access to parts of me that others might see as " abominable". 

In Jesus, Abba showed us a new Way. I do my best {and fail every day} to live according to this Way. As it was pointed out to me, I even fail at loving myself the way God loves me. 

Love:2 Sarah Beth 0. 

I need to remember that God loves me, and anyone who is worth staying in my life also will see me as God's Beloved-- no matter if they agree with me or understand me. 

Amen

Sarah Beth