God is Pleased

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:13-14

God is pleased with us.

The Father said to Jesus, “This is my beloved son; with him I am well-pleased.”  Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.  Now abide in my love.”

Isn’t this amazing?  God is happy to have us as his children; He is delighted that we are His sons and daughters; He rejoices over us with shouts of joy!

This acceptance and delight is not based on what we do, for anything that we do apart from him only comes out of our brokenness and our desire to gain significance out of our empty and vain selves.  His delight in us is based on the fact that He chose us to be his children and any goodness inside us is because He made us in His image and we are simply reflecting the Master.

The fact that God is pleased with us gives us great peace.  No striving is necessary, because we already have been given everything pertaining to life and godliness.  No working to obtain God’s favor is necessary because we already have it.  We don’t have to prove ourselves to anyone else, because we have the approval of the One whose opinion far outweighs all others’.

This is the place of ultimate peace, rest and safety.  I am my beloved’s and he is mine; his banner over me is love.