I keep wondering what would change if we actually believed the truth spoken at the Jordan. Not just admired it or quoted it, but lived as if it were real. Before Jesus healed anyone, before he challenged power, before he carried the weight of the cross, he was named. Beloved. That moment tells us that identity is not something we chase down later in life once we’ve proven ourselves. It is spoken at the beginning. We spend far too much time trying to earn what has already been given.
So often we start our days from urgency and expectation, measuring our worth by what gets accomplished or how well things hold together. Matthew’s story gently but firmly interrupts that pattern. The voice from heaven does not wait for results or improvement. It offers no conditions. “This is my Son, the Beloved” Matthew 3:17. In a world that constantly evaluates and ranks, this declaration stands apart. It reminds us that our deepest identity is not fragile and not dependent on performance.
Jesus comes up out of the water and nothing around him has changed, but everything within him is settled. He moves forward grounded, not grasping. That is the invitation for us as well. To live from a place of being claimed rather than constantly proving. To remember that we are more than our mistakes, more than our fears, more than the labels placed on us. We are beloved before we begin. And if we hold onto that truth, it has the power to reshape how we see ourselves, and how we choose to see others.