Behold!

It took me a long time to win the heart of the wife of my youth.  This is to no fault of hers…rather it is mine.  I remember the first time I laid eyes on her.  She had eyes of the May sky and hair like autumn wheat. When she smiled, the darkness in the room would flee and everything could be seen for what it was…including my gaping mouth and possible drool puddling in my lap. 

My first sight was while riding on a bus in college to Valleyfair in Minnesota.  She was sitting across the aisle from me and one row ahead.  My friend Geoff and I were heading up the welcoming committee for all of the new students coming into Crown College that year, and she was one of them. 

From that point on, my life existed for the sole purpose of impressing her, so I did the only thing I could do to impresser her at the time.  I began to wrestle with my friend Geoff.  It was only reasonable that as a competitive high school wrestler, that this act of machismo would be the most impressive act I could perform to reveal my value and woo this young, freshman girl.  So…Geoff and I wrestled…attacking each other, both over and under the seats.  We jumped across the aisle and back.  We were loud…obnoxious…and sweaty.  In the midst of our wrestling, I kept glancing her way out of the corner of my eye to judge her reaction and upon seeing her smiling and laughing I knew that it must be working. 

Unfortunately, five months later when I finally worked up enough courage to ask her out…she turned me down…hard. Apparently, she was not a wrestling fan. 

Fast forward, 19 months and numerous rejections later, we were walking through a local park hand in hand one evening.  At this time I asked her, “What are you thinking.”  I still remember her glorious response…

She said… “I like this.”

BEHOLD! She likes me!!!

Tim Keller writes the following in his book, Jesus is King: “Think of this, if you find somebody you adore, someone for whom you would do anything and you discover that this person feels the same about you, does that feel good? It’s sublime! That is what God has been enjoying for all eternity…the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

This is the beautiful picture of relationship that we see revealed in Matthew 3:13-17. I am convinced that, not only is God revealing to us His perfect relationship with Himself…but also…is inviting us into that restored relationship with him. 

It is no wonder then...why God sent his Son…because He so loved the world.