Reset button

New Year's Eve Super Hero birthday party

Luke 3:21-22: "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus had also been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven saying, "You are my Son, my Beloved, with you I am well pleased."

Well, it looks like the whole "daily" part of this blog isn't exactly working.  But I'm ok with that.  I'm just going to start again and hit the reset button.  So here goes...  today's verses are a from the gospel reading today when Jesus has been baptized.

I love the picture above.  It is me "photo-bombing" the picture of two of my fantastic friends on New Year's Eve.  They were doing a superhero pose and I jumped in.  Bwahahahaha....

Life is full and busy and often full of surprises. On the downside, sometimes that means our plans are derailed or our goals aren't met.  (Of course sometimes, the surprises in life are wonderful and awesome, like the photo above)...  But sometimes we may feel like we keep falling short and make the same mistakes over and over.

That's where the reset button comes in. One of the things I like about being a Lutheran is that we talk about how each day we get to start over, remembering that God loves us.  We know we're going to mess up - being human means we aren't going to be perfect. But God loves us no matter what, and each day we begin anew.

Martin Luther is often referenced in this discussion, reminding us to each day remember our baptism.  Baptism is an outward sign that reminds us how much God loves us and that we have a home in the church and an identity as Christians.  But it is only an outward sign, because the love and the welcome exist regardless of whether water has poured over our foreheads. The verses above are spoken at Jesus' baptism, but you are also God's beloved.  Every day.

So tomorrow we begin anew, again. We don't have to earn God's love by being good enough, by meeting our goals or achieving success.  Every day we get a reset button as our own reminder that we can start over and try again, but God's love is constant and unconditional.

God of love,  Help us to remember that you love us, no matter what, no strings attached, always and every day.  Help us to love each other as a response to your love.  Please be with those who struggle with feeling unloved and surround them with your compassionate presence.  Thanks, and Amen.