"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (ESV)
I was looking back on it and I couldn't help but ask God, "How could you love me and call ME your son? I'm not perfect! I'm not good 100% I am BAD in my heart of hearts! There's selfishness, moments where my life doesn't match what I say, pride, impurity..." As I was on this rant to God, it was in an instant that the obvious was made obvious to my dense brain and really Savior-needy heart.
When God said to Peter, James and his brother John, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," and yet (as they would see with their own eyes) a few pages later allowed Him to be crushed and killed through the most shameful of all deaths in the Roman world, a cross there seems to be some SERIOUS contradiction going on here!
Merinading in this and thinking about a few more pages later, this vocal loving-on-Jesus by God showed that the beloved and well-pleasing Son was treated and punished by God, just through humans, as an enemy, unpleasing, sinful object of God's wrath so that those who were not beloved and were not pleasing to God would now be beloved and well-pleasing.
What's even more is that in the sight of God, no one can earn their way to be in a beloved well-pleasing relationship to God. We're not judged by God based on what we do or do not do because one way or another, we just are sinners. It is NOT by our own efforts, or our own charity fund-raisers or own being a good person but by the only man who God ever called, "my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" yet killed him and slaughtered him like a lamb at the butcher shop.
So with amazed gratitude I believe this and will continue to declare with the grace God gives me my declaration of independence from myself and pethetic desperation and dependence on Jesus the Messiah alone for my true freedom. Through Him alone are we made beloved and well pleasing...it is finished :)
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Dependence! A thing viewed by the shifting currents of this world as a thing of weakness, and "independence" and "freedom" as a badge of honor, what folly have we stumbled upon, dear God of Compassion have mercy upon the multitude of our false teachings and deceptive philosophies! For it is written, "Do you see the man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." Let us turn our hearts to our fathers, and obey their words, storing them up in our hearts, humbling ourselves before the Truth of Christ our King. For it is written, "A servant is not above his master." Therefore "I will preach the law, which thou hast said, Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee." We who are baptized into his Body will suffer with him and endure his shame for the sake of the Gospel for the Poor. And in the Holy Psalter we speak as our being is bound up in "the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks: a participation in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break: a participation in the body of Christ." As we speak the words with one voice, "My soul hangeth upon thee, thy right hand hath upholden me." Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
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