Two Phrases from our Father for 2021
2020. The year that many proclaimed would be filled with “clear vision” brought us more deaths, division, and difficulties than we could have ever imagined. 2020 gave us clear vision, but not the way we could have predicted or would have chosen. Many of us now limp into 2021 with a greater clarity of our mortality, a deeper awareness of the broken world we inhabit and a humbled realization that we have very little control over the external circumstances of our lives.
With the instability of this past year, it may seem reasonable to avoid goals, future aspirations or any type of vision for the new year. But as we wake up to a new day and a new year, there are two specific phrases from our Heavenly Father that can help us flourish in the upcoming year– no matter what may come.
This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. (Matt. 3:17)
and
Well done, good and faithful servant! (Matt. 25:21)
After Jesus was baptized, at the very beginning of his earthly ministry, the Spirit of God descended upon Him and the Father declared over Him, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” When a person turns to God in faith and receives Jesus as their Savior and King, they become united to Him. This means that what is true of Jesus is now true of all Christians. Now that we have been adopted by the Father, united to the Son, and filled with the Spirit, the Father says over each of us, “You are my beloved child, with whom I am well-pleased.” God’s love for us did not increase or decrease based on how well or poorly we pursued or obeyed Him in 2020. In Christ, He can’t love us anymore than He already does because we are His beloved children. Let that be a daily anchor for your storm-tossed soul.
But there is another phrase we find in one of Jesus’ parables that prevents us from growing apathetic. Some of us may hear that God loves us unconditionally and think, “Yeah, I already knew that.” Unfortunately, God’s love can become an underwhelming assumption rather than a joyful reality that constantly empowers us. Because of this fact, it is good for the Christian to be reminded of a second Fatherly phrase, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
While every Christian will hear from the Father, “You are my beloved child, with whom I am well-pleased,” I often wonder whether or not every Christian will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”. Various passages in the Scriptures allude to the fact that you can be saved, yet miss out on future rewards in heaven. Here are a few:
“If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:15
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” 2 Corinthians 5:10
“The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.” John 4:36
While I don’t fully grasp what some of these future rewards in heaven will be, I know the greatest reward is God Himself. And if God is our great reward, wouldn’t it follow that one of the greatest rewards would be His declaration of delight over our lives? It is difficult to imagine a greater reward than Jesus, the King of the universe, gazing into my eyes with a smile on His face, proclaiming, “ Well done, Brad! You were a good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your Master’s joy.”
If we want to flourish as followers of Jesus in 2021, we must not wait for life to get “back to normal.” We need to learn how to rest in the Father’s unending pleasure, while simultaneously striving to please Him with every area of our lives right now. We need to grow in self-awareness to better grasp which side of the spectrum we lean toward. If 2020 was a year of spiritual exhaustion and constant attempts to prove yourself to God and others, would you rest more deeply and believe more fully that you are already His beloved. And If 2020 was a year of spiritual apathy and procrastination, would you dwell on the final day when you will stand before your Master and give an account of your life. Let us live each day of this new year with our hearts fixed on that future day. There can be no greater moment than being lovingly embraced as His child based on Jesus’ work, and affirmed as His faithful servant because you faithfully mirrored His love to the world and leveraged your God-given abilities for His Kingdom.
I encourage you to join me in praying through the following questions as we seek to enjoy, obey and reflect Jesus in 2021:
What should 2021 look like for you as you live in His delight and long for His declaration?
What relationships need reconciling in response to His reconciling work at the cross?
What healthy rhythms need to be kept in place or put in place?
What disciplines need to be taken up to train for godliness?
What sinful patterns and practices need to be put to death in response to Jesus’ perfect love for you?
What Gospel promises need to be trusted to lead you into deeper peace?