Jump Start # 3579

Matthew 3:17 “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’”

We are in the season of honoring our parents. Mother’s Day in May and Father’s Day in June. The family is important to God. He designed it. He instructed it. He used it as illustrations of greater spiritual lessons. And, in a way we may not often consider, God shows us a vital aspect of parenting.

Our verse today comes from the baptism of Jesus. The context tells us that He was baptized to fulfill righteousness. The Lord didn’t need to be baptized as I did. The forgiveness of sins was not attached to His baptism. However, the baptism of Jesus demonstrates that there was nothing Jesus asks of us, He did not first do Himself. Baptism is one such thing. Those who ridicule baptism as a work and unnecessary and even offering different modes of baptism miss the essence of what the Scriptures are teaching. Baptism was part of that commissioned message that the apostles were sent into all the world with to preach.

Here at the baptism we find three lessons about parenting:

First, the Father was there. He saw what Jesus was doing. I’ve seen many parents in the stands, but they weren’t there. The whole time they are on their phones talking or playing games, or had their face buried in a book. Sure they attended, but they were there. The Father saw. Your presence in your child’s life is something that they will remember the rest of their lives. Make it a priority to be there. You’ll skip things you want to do, because you need to be where your child is. And, when you do go, don’t make the child feel bad because you missed the ballgame on TV or didn’t get to do what you wanted to. Guilting the child is not much better than neglecting the child. The Father was present.

Second, the Father made His presence felt. He proclaimed the relationship and His feelings. My Beloved. I’m well pleased. Jesus knew. God expressed His feelings towards His Son. The Holy Spirit was sent and descended as a dove upon Jesus. The hug. The kiss. The high-five. The smile. The “that-a-boy.” It was more than just feeling His presence, it was a positive experience. My Son. I’m well pleased. I’ve been to far too many little league ballgames and dad was in the stands, but he was screaming at his son for striking out, missing a catch and the child just dropped his head in shame. Make your child glad you are there. You don’t want him to see you walking up and thinking, “Oh, great. Dad’s here.”

Third, God didn’t tell this to Jesus in secret. Before all, He declared, “This is my beloved Son.” God was declaring the deity and relationship of Jesus. Earlier in this chapter, as John the prophet is preaching, we read, “Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around Jordan” (5). Verse seven says, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism…” It is in verse 13, that Jesus comes to be baptized. Was this large crowd still gathered there? Did they all hear the words spoken from Heaven?

It is said that every person needs three things in a relationship. To be loved. To be accepted. And, to be approved. And, when that isn’t found in a home, a person will find it somewhere, even if it is with the wrong people. The Father demonstrated all three of these things in that one declaration He made at Jesus’ baptism.

Has it been a while since you told your kids that you love them? How about, “I’m proud of you”? Are you busy in their lives? Do they have to beg and beg before you will finally agree to come and play them? Are you quick to change your schedule to be with your family?

Lionel Richie, the great singer and songwriter had a quote from his dad. He said, “Enjoy coming home.” Lionel asked him why? He said, “There’s coming a time when you can’t come home.” When asked what he meant, his dad said, “The house will be there, but the people in the house won’t be there.” Lionel said this at the end of a documentary about making the song, “We are the world.” He was sitting in the very studio room where that song was recorded. He said that room was his “home.” He pointed and said, Michael (Jackson) was standing right over there. But, he’s no longer here. Over there, he pointed, was where another pop sensation stood, but now has passed away. The house is here, but the people in the house no longer are.

And, so it is with us. Enjoy coming home…

Roger