Called To InfluenceSample

Who am I to Influence? Everything Jesus did would flow from his awareness of his identity as the Son. It was the first thing the Father made sure he understood before he embarked on any kind of ministry. In Matthew 3:16-17 we read, ‘ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”’ This extract used to puzzle me. It appears in the Bible before Jesus starts his ministry and did anything miraculous, so why does Father God affirm his son in such a lavish way? My default response was, ‘Surely Jesus needs to achieve something for his Father to be pleased?’ Such a response highlights orphan thinking, rooted in an ungodly lie that you have to perform in order to get approval. The Christian faith is based on relationship and at its heart is God’s unconditional love for us as his children. He might not like some of the things we do but his perfect love neither increases nor decreases, regardless of our thoughts or actions. Let’s receive the revelation of our identity and relationship with The Father deep in our hearts and allow him to transform us from thinking like orphans to thinking like heirs. As adopted heirs we have access to God’s Kingdom and carry his authority to transform society around us as we go about our daily lives. You are royalty and people adore princes and princesses. They watch their every move, they want to be like them and, by bringing God’s presence into their midst, you will be able to have great influence and bring great hope.