You Are Mine

I have been reminded recently of the power of parental blessing, having your mom or dad say to you, “I love you. I am proud of you. I am so glad you are my son, my daughter.” Hearing such things from your parents has a big impact for the good on your life. When you don’t hear this from your parents, or, worse, hear negative things from your parents, the harm it can do to you is deep. To receive the blessing of your parents, or to not receive it or have it taken away truly makes a difference in your life.
First, your identity is impacted. One primary way we know who we are is based on knowing who our parents are. I am the son of Howard and Margaret Orr, for example. I am a part of this family. I am not on my own, disconnected from anyone. If a person does not have a connection with their father or mother, or were rejected by their parents and cut off, this can cause severe confusion about one’s identity. There is a sense of being alone, abandoned, and lost.
Second, by having a parental blessing, it impacts your self-worth in a positive way. To hear regularly from your parents that you are loved, that they are proud of you, that you are in the family, lays a solid foundation for feeling good about yourself, respecting yourself, and living responsibly and well. Without that foundation, self-worth can be harmed. And to have the blessing of your parents withdrawn, or to be told negative things, your self worth can be terribly diminished. And with a low sense of self-worth, of truly feeling that you are worthless and a bad person, leads you into a downward spiral that could end very badly.
So, having or not having blessing from your parents impacts your self worth in a good way or a bad way. If you have a healthy sense of self-worth, then you are more likely to make good and responsible decisions. Not that you won’t make mistakes. The point is though that you will generally respect yourself if you know you are loved and wanted. But if you have received the message that you are not loved and not wanted, then why care about yourself and what you do? The tendency is to be irresponsible and to not respect yourself, because you feel worthless. To not have the parental blessing negatively impacts the life decisions you would make.
Finally, whether or not you have the blessing of your parents impacts how resilient you will be in tough times. It also impacts how powerful you can be when personal strength is called for. With a foundation that you are loved, that your parents are proud of you, that you are part of a family and not completely on your own, then when the hard times come, you can rely on that love and that family support. And with that solid backing, you are in a position to act, to make decisions, to take risks, knowing that if things don’t work out, you still have people in your life. But if you don’t have that backing, then who can you lean on in the hard times? Fear of failure is huge when you feel like you are on your own and no one is around to support you. And fear makes us weak, not powerful. So, to not have that blessing can have the tendency of impacting how resilient one can be in a crisis, and can weaken one’s capacity to take charge of their life.
One disclaimer: just because someone has the blessing of their parents doesn’t mean they will surely be successful in life. Just so, to not have the blessing of one’s parents does not mean that person is guaranteed to have a miserable and tragic life. We are all ultimately responsible for our own lives. God will judge each of us by the life we lived. People from loving homes can throw that love away. People who did not experience a loving home can overcome it and live a good, healthy life. Still, it must be admitted that the blessing of parents can help if one has it and can hurt if one doesn’t have it.
With this context, we turn to the baptism of Jesus. His baptism marks a turning point in his life. It is at this stage in his life where Jesus begins his public ministry. It is after his baptism that Jesus begins to gather his disciples, teach, and heal people. His time of anonymity as the son of a woodworker in Nazareth is coming to an end. He will be leaving his parents’ home and fulfilling his purpose.
And as Jesus rose out of the water, and was praying, the Holy Spirit came upon Him. And a voice sounded from heaven. We immediately recognize this as an example of the Trinity. But, the point I want to highlight today is the parental blessing that Jesus receives from his Father. In this significant moment in Jesus’ life, he hears his Father claim him as his beloved son in whom he is well pleased. It is significant to note that as Jesus begins his public ministry, where he will face many great challenges, and eventually betrayal and death, he receives from his Father a blessing.
Acknowledging the full humanity of Jesus, surely having received this blessing from His Father must have impacted him. Jesus experienced the affirmation of his Father that they are together. Jesus is not alone in this, but he has his Father and the Holy Spirit with him. This is affirming, no question. Jesus is experiencing acceptance. And with that acceptance comes empowerment. Yes, we know Jesus is empowered by the Holy Spirit coming upon him. We can also affirm that Jesus is being empowered as a consequence of receiving a blessing from his Father.
Now, here is the good part. Just as Jesus is the Son of God, so are we by adoption. As we heard in the prophecy from Isaiah, God loves us. God claims us as his own. We can be assured that we are loved, because we are loved by God. We can be assured that we are accepted, because God claims us as one of his kids. We are not alone, because at the core of our being, we are God’s. And nothing can separate us from the love of God. God’s love for us is eternal. And it is God’s good pleasure to love us and claim us. This is the good news that has the potential to empower each of us to live our lives free from fear, free from the anxiety of being abandoned. There is no reason for us to have low self-esteem if we truly believe that God loves us right now and in spite of the mistakes we’ve made in our lives. If, like Jesus, we can hear this blessing from God and receive it, we are then opening ourselves to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and this is what empowers us to live the abundant life that God desires for us to live, a life that has peace, a life that can be a blessing to others. Truly, the foundation for having a good life is receiving the blessing that God our heavenly Father offers us.
But why? Is there something any of us did to earn God’s blessing? The prophecy from Isaiah tells us why God has chosen to love us and claim us. It is God’s good pleasure to do so. In other words, God loves us just because. It is pleasing to God to love us. It is pleasing to God to claim us as His children.
If we have received a parental blessing, this is something to cherish and stand on. If we have not, without doubt, this is painful. But there is another source of blessing. There is the deeper and more reliable blessing, the blessing that comes from our Heavenly Father. Receive this blessing. Trust it. Live your life cherishing the blessing you have been given from God.