“Then a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Mark 1:11

We would expect the exaltation from God concerning Jesus perhaps as Jesus enters into Jerusalem at the beginning of that last week leading up to his death.  Or perhaps to hear that declaration as Jesus pronounces the new covenant at the last supper.  Certainly it would make perfect sense to hear that proclamation on that hill of Cavalry.  Yet that is not when we hear it (although I am sure that God was feeling it).  No we hear it at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Before the first miraculous healing, before the first parable, God proclaims to all that Jesus is the Christ and God is well pleased with him.

Compare that to how the world works and how we humans judge.  We say the proof is in the pudding.  That is to say that I can only judge the goodness of something once all the preparation and action is completed and I get to taste it.  Alls well that ends well.  It is the end that matters.  Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing.  Which would seem to say that we can only be certain of something once we know the outcome is a win.  Nothing else matters.

Now I would not presume to speak for God.  In God’s proclamation, knowing His Son, knowing the ultimate outcome was going to be victory over sin for our sake, God knew it was going to be a win.  God may have been taking into account that His Son would soon be back at His right hand making the “pudding” wonderful.  Its not so much God’s intent as it is God’s timing.  He knew the outcome but nobody else did.  The disciples had no idea.  And right at the moment, at the beginning of Jesus Christ’s ministry, God felt it important to state publicly (though some only heard it as thunder) who Jesus was.  And please note, God didn’t say, I will be well pleased, I am looking forward to, I tell you something great is in the future.  No, God said, right here, right now, in this circumstance I am well pleased.

So what can we take from this.  First because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, we can know and claim that God is our Heavenly Father.  It was God’s plan that Jesus Christ follow God’s plan and come to earth as a human and God was well pleased.  Jesus Christ submitted to God’s plan, even to the point of letting the created (John the Baptist) baptize the creator (Jesus Christ) and God was well pleased.

We are all Our Heavenly Father’s creation.  We are all on a journey with a road map laid out by Our Heavenly Father.  Yet as Christ said there are many roads on that map and we have the choice which one to travel on.  Sadly, there are some, who do not take the Author of the map in mind and, believing that they can navigate their path on their own, choose wayward roads that lead to confusion, suffering and being lost.  Yet Our Heavenly Father promises this, whether you are just starting out on the journey, having found yourself lost maybe trying to get back on the right path, on the right path but uncertain of how that path leads to the final destination, if you will call on God, if you will believe that He loves you enough to supply His Son Jesus Christ to be your savior (and mine), Our Heavenly Father is well pleased with you.  And do not fear, there will be flat tires and/or human inspired detours, which is why Jesus Christ came to earth in the first place.  To show us the Way back to God’s plan.

And bottom line?  Our Heavenly Father’s being pleased trumps any and all who would be displeased.  May it be that we seek the comfort, solace and peace that comes from journeying with Our Heavenly Father who desires to show us His Love and Pleasure with us.

Amen