First Sunday after the Epiphany
Our True Home
What a beautiful day to worship the Savior with the fellowship of believers! What a beautiful picture the baptism of Jesus paints for us of the relationship for which our hearts were made and for which they yearn. The Father, Son, and Spirit are present for one another in the same time and space. They join their lives together for the greatest good purpose we could hope for or imagine.
Our experience too often includes broken families, disordered relationships, and bitter conflicts. Many wander in a world of fear, anxiety, and rejection, with no word of hope or blessing. The further we travel from God, the emptier our hearts feel, the deeper our disorientation. The closer we come to God, the greater our chance to repair and reorder what is broken, and to establish and deepen what has been eroded.
“Son, beloved, well pleased.” What a blessing to have a firm, established place in a family! What a blessing to know I am actually loved! What a blessed assurance that they are happy to know and have me! Whatever we may lack from the human family, all this is ours in Jesus Christ!
“How great a love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called (adopted) children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV). “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:21 NIV).
The Word of the Cross is the only authentic source of acceptance, love, and meaning. It’s all there for you, me, and everyone you know. The crosses in our churches point us to our only true Home—the Savior. Come home to him today!
Bill Andrews, retired pastor
Upper Marlboro, Maryland