And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:16-17 ESV
I’ve read this passage a thousand times, I’ve heard it preached over and over, and I really thought I knew what it meant. Man was I in for a surprise.
For me, the revelation of what this passage really means begun last year. Month two of my Race was a month called Manistry. It’s where all the guys from our squad get together and form a team for the month. That month changed my life.
We started to dig into what Sonship is, and what the root issues were in our lives that led us to sin. We faced so many questions and issues that lead us to this thought:
What is my identity and purpose in life?
As we dug into what God had for us that month, my world was flipped upside down spiritually, and I realized that I was lacking such a deeper heart connection with God. God was showing me that there were parts of my heart that didn’t believe that I possesed God’s Love, that His Love was something I had to earn. You see, my whole life I believed my purpose was to know God and make Him known. There’s nothing wrong with this statement, and it’s something we are called to do, but this statement is based on Knowledge. As much as God calls us to know Him and make Him known, there’s something so much stronger than Knowledge. God showed me that month my true identity and that I wasn’t created just to know Him.
He showed me that my true identity is that I was born to be Loved by Him. That’s it. The simplicity of the Gospel. We were born to be Loved by God.
Let’s go back to that verse.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:16-17 ESV
At this point in Jesus’s life, how many miracles had He done? How many people had He professed to about God’s Kingdom? How many people did He heal? How many demons did He drive out?
None.
Yet let’s look at what the Father says about Him. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Father openly declares that Jesus is Loved, that Jesus is God’s Son, and that the Father is pleased with Him. For 30 years, Jesus was just simply Loved by God.
Doesn’t that seem so dumb?! Jesus why did you waste your time? Couldn’t you have spead things up? Couldn’t you have just came down as a grown man and brought the Kingdom? You could have at least been doing miracles your whole life? Wouldn’t that have been more effective?! How many people saw the prophecy of your coming and then saw nothing? Weren’t you concerned with fulfilling all the plans that God had for you?! How many people questioned that you were actually the Messiah during these 30 years?
None of these questions mattered, it was enough for Jesus to be Loved by God. For 30 years that’s all that mattered. The Father told Jesus it was not time yet, and He had sureness in the waiting. When people accused Jesus, He was secure in the Father. When people asked for a sign, Jesus didn’t need to prove anything. When people questioned who Jesus was, He knew His idenity in the Father.
Consequently, when God began to lovingly show me this, I realized that my identity in Christ wasn’t based on just being Loved by Him. He showed me that I was living for God’s Love from my knowledge of who He is. But instead God was leading me to live from His Love so I can know Him more.
What a powerful transformation it was to realize that I’m already accepted, I’m already enough, and that I’m already Loved. What security I found in not having to prove myself. What soundness my heart possesed in this adoption to Sonship. What freedom I found in my true identity.
Over the past year I have seen God do the impossible, the unthinkable, the unfathomable. I’ve seen people healed, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’ve seen strongholds of the enemy demolished. I’ve seen people walk in freedom where there was bondage. I’ve seen God set up devine appointments for us to meet people. I’ve seen tribes and people groups all around the world hear the Gospel, some for the very first time. I’ve seen the people around me equipped and released to be God’s hands and feet to the least of these. But none of these has changed my life more than this truth:
That I was born to be Loved.
All of the sudden I wake up in the morning secure, fulfilled, Loved. I wake up and nobody owes me anything. I wake up knowing I am already accepted and enough. I wake up knowing no matter what this day has for me, I am going to be ok. I wake up every morning with the Greatest Gift I could ever receive, the Love of God.
Here I am again, Alumni Team Leading in Manistry month, just over a year later. New squad, new people, new country, but God keeps showing me what Sonship looks like. I’m still learning how to let this truth sink into every part of my being. And I’m definitely still learning how to give this truth away!
My walk with God has never been more powerful, intimate, secure, and free. I’ve found that when God’s Love for me can be my starting place, my foundation, my source, making Him known is easy! I can’t help it now! Making Him known is the overflow, not the goal. Showing His Love to someone on the street is a joy not a burden. Walking in authority to see the Kingdom meet Earth is a byproduct of being overwhelmed by the Fathers Love. Fear of rejection from man doesn’t have a hold on me when I’m secure in this Love. Having to “earn” God’s approval is a struggle of the past. I’ve been able to hear God’s voice like never before because it’s out of a place of intimacy, not striving. His Word becomes even more alive because I walk with the Author. I am in even more awe of who He is because of how He chooses to Love me. I can now see people through His eyes because I know how He sees me.
And now I just want to tell you, this is your true identity.
You are born to be Loved.
There’s nothing you have to do to earn it. There’s nothing keeping you from being enough. There’s nothing that can seperate you from this Love. There’s no requirements or contracts. You don’t even have to believe it, God already fully Loves and accepts you. But if you do choose to accept this Love, there’s an inheritance greater than you can imagine. To accept this Truth, you will die. God will ever so lovingly show you the parts of yourself that are not your true self. Those parts of “you” are not really you, they will have to die. But in return for your ashes, God will give you beauty, and for your rags, He will clothe you with gladness. The road and the gate is narrow, but you will not faint because He is walking every step with you. You will not want, because He is a Good Father.
