So, so beautiful . . be blessed!!!!
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THE BELOVED
By Francis Frangipane"There is something utterly pleasing to the Father when Christ is revealed, touching His heart in the depths of His nature.
In Jesus' first public appearance, this love between Father and Son engulfed the scene at the river Jordan.
While Jesus was still in the water, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven . .
'Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased' (Luke 3:21-22).
Do not rush past this phrase, My beloved Son. Jesus is not just a son, or even the Son, He is the Father's beloved Son.
There is no one like Him. Here, in this incredible, inaugural moment, the Father Himself draws near.
Almighty God moves from His throne in the highest heaven until His face is at the edge of our physical world.
From eternity the Father speaks to His Son:
"In Thee I am well-pleased.Then, the Almighty turns and repeats the identical thought to John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ:
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Matt 3:17).
Note: in both times that He spoke, the Father could not help but express His love for Jesus.
In truth, the Father is consumed with love for His Son.
We do not have a human reference to understand
the energy,
the passion,
and the unrestrained oneness
that exists between the Father and the Son.We can only stand and watch in awe, and learn of it. It is the essence of heaven; it is the nectar of eternal life.
Beloved . . . in Thee I am well-pleased.
The deep, unfathomable perfection of God,
the incomprehensible ethos of the divine nature, knows only pleasure in Jesus.The Almighty, who gives to all life,
receives life from the Son
and is fulfilled to the depth of His being.The Father gazes at His Son and harbors no slight shadow of regret, no lingering wish for someone or something to be done better.
We behold God on earth satisfying God in heaven: perfect surrender in the embrace of perfect acceptance.
Their relationship is amazing.
Yet, add to it the fact that, prior to this encounter, Jesus had not accomplished any miracles; there were no signs or wonders, no vast multitudes.
Outwardly, a carpenter named Jesus came, like everyone else, to be baptized. Until that moment, Jesus' life was unremarkable. He was another woodworker.
How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven?
At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father.
In everything, He stayed true,
heartbeat to heartbeat,
with the Father's desires.Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him.
Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ's life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God.
"Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. -Matt 12:17-18
God cannot speak of Christ, or even make reference to Him, without calling Him "My beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased."
One day, indeed, we will gaze upon the face of God's beloved and we will know that to see His face is the highest blessedness of heaven.
A radiant cloud formed and then overshadowed the disciples. Out from this living splendor, again, the voice of God was heard:
This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him! -Matt 17:5
The all-knowing, all-wise God, the Creator of heaven and earth, in the only times He has ever spoken audibly to mankind, has said the same thing three times:
This is My beloved Son. In all the unlimited creativity of the mind of God, there is nothing more profound, no greater revelation than to say, Listen to Him!
In each occasion that He speaks, the Father returns to glorifying His beloved. We hear this information, we write it down, we think we grasp God's truth; but do we.
We underline but do not understand. Too quickly we seek to move to another insight, but the voice of God brings us back.
In the Father's eyes, there is no other truth. We have not genuinely understood who Jesus is, otherwise we would feel as the Father does.
This love within the Godhead is the symphony of the universe.
It is what makes heaven heavenly.
Even as we are awed by such all-consuming oneness, Jesus asks that each of us, as His disciples, would be included in this holy hymn of heaven.
He prays, O righteous Father . . . I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:25-26).
Jesus prays that the same love, the same overwhelming fulfillment that the Father has in His Son, may also be manifested in us.
In other words, God desires that we become as totally consumed with Jesus as is the Father!
What Christ Provides
What is it, uniquely, that the Father has found in the Son that so fulfills Him?
I believe the Son's gift is this: Jesus presents to the Father the opportunity to satisfy His deepest passions and to reveal His highest glory, the nature of which is love.
We see this in Jesus' statement, For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life (John 10:17).
The Son presents to the Father reconciliation between heaven and earth. He allows God to be revealed as He truly is: not a harsh judge but a loving Father.
In His eternal nature, the Father sees man's end from the beginning.
We know that, when a sinner repents, there is increased joy among angels (Luke 15:7), but what happens in heaven when God is grieved?
You see, the Lord participated vicariously in the suffering of His people. Indeed, in Judges we are told of a time when He could bear the misery of Israel no longer (Judges 10:16).
Consider: the Spirit of God was not aloof, separated from Israel's condition. Just as the Spirit hovered over the pre-creation world, so He brooded over Israel, being deeply involved, moved to the point of being unable to "bear the misery of Israel" any longer.
By providing atonement for man's sins, Jesus heals the estrangement, the wound, in the Father's heart, and then He extends that healing to man.
Not only do we have peace with God through the sacrifice of Christ, God has peace with us.
He is freed from the limitations of justice; now He can remove the penalty of sin through love.
Let us celebrate what Christ has done:
The demands of divine wrath, which could not be settled by man, are fully settled by God Himself through Christ.
God is longing for reconciliation and healing with humanity.
Indeed, Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a certain king who wished to settle accounts (Matt 18:23).
This is God's heart, through Christ: He desires to settle accounts with mankind!
As long as we ourselves abide in mercy, the full panorama of divine mercy will remain open and fully active toward mankind's need.
When we pray, in Jesus' name, we are coming to the Father with the goal of mercy in mind.
The announcement that we have come in Jesus' name signifies we are representatives of Jesus' purpose, which is mercy and not judgment.
Come boldly for mercy!
The Father has never taken pleasure in the death of the wicked.
The idea that He has enjoyed destroying sinners is a satanic slander which Christ came to dispel.
His attitude toward mankind is exactly the opposite: His joy increases when sinners repent.
Because Christ's sacrifice for sin has led to millions who have repented, Jesus has increased inestimably the Father's joy.
Because judgment is now atoned for in Christ, the Father has full freedom to answer every prayer of mercy.
The church can come boldly into the throne of God's grace and stand before the mercy seat in prayer for the world around us.
This is what Jesus gives to the Father:
perfect fulfillment of God's love,
perfect fulfillment of His compassion,
perfect unveiling of the highest glory of God.In fact, the very inspiration to intercede is the result of Christ working within us.
Every time Christ is revealed through our intercession, wrath is delayed and divine mercy begins searching for the opportunity to triumph.
When we pray, God be merciful, we are delighting and fulfilling His heart for mercy!
Do you not also feel, increasing in you, the Father's love for Jesus? He brings heaven to earth and bids us to rejoice with Him over the redemptive purpose.
To cover sin, to not condemn but rather to intercede, is to reveal the nature of Christ. Whenever Christ is revealed, mercy triumphs, and the Father is well-pleased.
Thank You, Lord, for You are my beloved, and in You, I find the river of God's pleasure.