When the dove descended on Jesus
and a voice from heaven declared
in the presence of many witnesses,
“This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”
did Jesus believe it?
Perhaps the Holy Spirit led him
into the desert
so he could listen to the part of himself
that was afraid to trust
such extravagant love.
Maybe in the quiet of the wilderness
Jesus was able to hear the dark fears inside
tempting him to hold back
just in case
he didn’t get what he needed,
he was misunderstood and dismissed,
he fell, and God didn’t catch him.
Perhaps that’s why
he was in the desert for forty days.
Words of faith come quickly,
while belief often trails behind.
So maybe we can give ourselves
forty days or
forty years.
Maybe it takes seven times seventy years
to believe it’s true for us, too.
Maybe the wilderness in which
our dark fears come out of hiding
are those moments
when the dove descends,
and we meet a part of ourselves we don’t like
and want to cast out.
What if
all the things we do
that we wish we wouldn’t
–blaming ourselves or others,
losing our temper,
judging,
giving in to our compulsions–
are not coming from a part of us
that needs to be banished
but a part of ourselves
that is brave enough to tip her hand
and let us in
so she can be witnessed,
reassured,
and hear God declare again
from the heaven in our hearts,
“You are my beloved child,
in whom I well pleased.”
Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. –1 John 3:1 (The Voice)
An Everyday Pilgrim 