From my vantage point on the bank, the waters of the Jordan River look murky and brown. But, on a hundred degree day in Israel, almost any water looks inviting and I resist the urge to walk to the edge and wade in. Instead, I trace patterns in the dust beneath me with my sandal and absorb the words Zach is reading.
“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. . . . A voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”
With you I am well pleased.
I imagine standing in the Jordan as the heavens open and as God speaks.
What would that be like? What does it look like when the heavens open? How does the audible voice of God sound?
I can’t even imagine.
Several minutes later (after hastily and uncomfortably changing into my bathing suit in the car), I feel sand between my toes and the coolness of running water around my ankles. To my left, my one-year-old niece laughs and splashes in the water from the safety of Grandma’s lap, only pausing for a moment when she accidentally splashes the water into her own face. I make my way towards the middle of the river, carefully staying out of an eddy, to where my dad, brothers, and sister-in-law are waiting.
As I stand in the Jordan—in the water where Jesus was baptized—with Zach supporting me on one side and my dad on the other, I listen to Zach speak again.
“Buried with Christ in death. . .”
I am tipped back and the water surrounds me.
“Raised to walk in newness of life.”
As I emerge, the heavens do not open. The voice of God is not heard.
But I think “You are my daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” And I hope this is what God would say. I lack the perfection of Jesus. Sin and fighting against sin and failure are all part of my daily life. But so are asking forgiveness and repenting from past actions.
Be well pleased, Lord. Make me more like Jesus.
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