My favorite Bible verse is Matthew 3:17 where God opens the heavens descending upon Jesus like a dove. The Spirit of God then speaks words of affirmation to His Son.
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
I have been meditating on this passage of scripture recently, seeking truth, which may be hidden, waiting to be discovered.
I will humbly share my reflections with you and ask for your feedback.
Today I was reading it again and I realized that this affirmation happened before the start of Jesus’ ministry, right after His baptism.
I have read some of the books on the lost Gospels. In these manuscripts, which were not allowed for public consumption, there are stories about Jesus as a child and also as a young man.
One of the stories I remember about him was that he had gotten angry at one of his childhood friends and the friend died. Everyone blamed him for the death so he brought the dead friend back to life. It seemed characteristically easy for him to do such a miracle even at a young age.
The other story about Jesus was an observation. Someone had seen him by a river creating birds apparently. He was just sitting at the side of the river and forming birds out of clay and they would take form and fly off.
I wish I had been there. I would have had so much fun with him as a child.
So he had the ability to take and give life and to create from the time of birth. These miracles were not considered a part of his ministry.
His ministry started after His baptism and this affirmation from God. God showered Him with love before He was known as the Messiah before He became well known for His miracles.
Does this not give further weight to the concept that God’s love is unconditional and not based on works?
We are saved by grace, it is a gift, from a loving Father. All we have to do is believe that He loved us enough to sacrifice His son for our sins.
It is a matter of our hearts not our hands. It is how we love, not how we toil, which pleases God.
If our heavenly Father who is so Holy and Righteous can love us with this kind of love, should we not strive to love our children in the same manner?
Hi Gracie, One of my favorite Bible verses is Roman’s 3:23.
“3:23 -for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” We can judge no man or look down on anyone when we let that sink into our hearts.
This is how I taught my daughter to understand this scripture: ” the pretty and the plain, the rich and the poor, the simple and the wise, treat them all the same because we all fall short of The Glory of God” In God’s eyes there is no distinction between a pretty or plain looking person, or a rich man and poor man, or a smart man and simple man. God searches the heart of a man/woman. He doesn’t check out their face, or bank account, nor does he care what they got on their math test. He cares about what is in their heart and so should we.
Yes, that is true.
So you are saying that all of God’s word is not for public consumption?
Oh Gracie, I am going to stand firm and unmovable on this subject. My brother was very involved with the eastern sect religions when I was growing up and The Gospel of Thomas was one of their favorite reads. It is not documented or substantiated anywhere else. Don’t you think Peter or John would have related those stories in their narrative if they were true. God through John was very specific that whoever adds to or takes away from This Book will have a price to pay.
The stories are refreshing and comforting and even enlightening, but don’t buy into them. John, his beloved, would certainly have related those stories if he was lead by the spirit to do so. They all would have.
You are my sister in Christ. If God wanted the Gospel of Thomas to be in HIS WORD to us I am certain that it would have been included. Accept it as inspirational fiction but that is all it is. The Bible is not a political document.
The Book of Thomas has some very interesting stories that’s for sure. But that is all they are is stories. When the New Testament Gospels were being put together the people closest to the truth decided what was going to be included and what was not. And they decided Thomas was not. His account is not even close to the other 4. Who knows?
I consider it wrong for anyone to control which gospels I read. Many of the gospels were released for political purposes and had nothing to do with the purpose of God.