There are no more profound words in all a man’s life than to hear the voice of his father saying, ”Son, I am pleased with you!” or “I am proud of you!”. Men crave that affirmation and unfortunately will do a lot of regretful things to get it. And yet any other voice announcing approval will ultimately leave one empty until he hears it from his Daddy. No woman, mother, friend, or boss will compare to hearing the voice of one’s father.
Interestingly as Jesus was prepared for His ministry, He heard the voice. Matthew reports that Jesus went out to see John the Baptist. When John saw Jesus he wanted to be baptized by Jesus, but Jesus insisted that John baptize Him. John consented and baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. Matthew states that, “immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16, 17)
Jesus at 30 years old heard the voice of His heavenly Father say, “Son, I am pleased with you.” And this is apparently what He needed as he began His three year ministry. Jesus needed affirmation not from His mother, Mary, or from His cousin, John, or from the crowds who heard His teaching or the religious leaders who heard Him in the temple courts, He needed to hear His Father’s voice.
One of the big, burly 30 plus old residents at The Way heard the voice of his father the other day. The voice of affirmation he had been waiting for over 30 years. God is probably preparing him for his ministry.
Every man needs to hear it from their Dad. Yet even more significantly, we all need to hear it from our heavenly father. John 1:12, 13 announces that we all have the opportunity to become a child of God by faith. Then we can claim the promise of Galatians 4 that states we can call on God as “Abba! Father!” “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:7)
Listen for your Father’s voice. We all need His word of affirmation.
Tom Reynolds