Psychology has done much to help us understand just how much influence our fathers have on how we view ourselves, each other, our own children, and even our world. Have you ever assessed your father's influence on you, for good or bad?
Jesus' father, Joseph, was a great man. The Bible paints a beautiful picture of this guy in Matthew's first few chapters. He chose to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the face of what was certainly an enormous volume of "advisors" when faced with the difficult decision to keep Mary as his wife. This decision meant he would heavily influence Jesus' perspective on life and the world. His influence helped Jesus navigate his course of life. Conversely, Joseph's influence no doubt had a negative influence as well (if it is fair to call such things positive or negative - who is to say?). What Jesus learned from Joseph was embedded in Jesus. For better or worse.
How has your father influenced you, for better or worse? Sometimes we focus on shortcomings, and quickly identify ways we may have been tripped up by our father's influence. This is especially obvious in abuse or neglect situations, where the son or daughter sometimes has self-esteem issues which motivate a world of destructive behavior until checked.
Sometimes we so idolize our father that we become limited, too. Sometimes we associate perfection with our father - he could do no wrong. While this affection is beautiful, it can also serve to limit our perspective. If Dad was the model, is there room for improvement? Do I even look beyond him for the best path to follow? With all of Joseph's righteous qualities, he was still a man, and Jesus had to make a decision, as a man, as to whether or not a new identification was appropriate...
When Jesus was baptized, it was a monumental moment for him. It was the official start of his adult ministry. Most importantly, though, it was a day when Jesus experienced from God, simultaneously, coronation and commission. He experienced the voice of God telling him, You are my son, in whom I am well pleased. Whatever level he was before, he now identified himself much more fully as God's son. And no matter at what level he felt commissioned by God before, his experience with the Holy Spirit coming onto him must have exponentially increased his sense of purpose and empowerment.
Have you opened yourself to your coronation and commission? Have you allowed yourself to be lifted to a new level of being by identifying yourself, first and foremost, as a child of the Father? Have you owned up to the reality that we live in the age of grace, the age of the Spirit, and that this Holy Spirit of God is there for the taking, the leading, the strengthening, the healing, the...
May you live more and more informed by your identity as a child of God, even as you process with gratitude your father's influence on your life. Consider yourself "coronated." May you live with more and more empowerment and purpose as you identify yourself as a person called to a great purpose that will transform your life and your world. Consider yourself commissioned. May you truly live because you have discovered your coronation commission.
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