"And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love ... ' " (v. 11)
For reading & meditation:
Mark 1:1-12
We continue with the thought that what makes the Bible unique is its Author. Some years ago a cartoon appeared in a Christian magazine depicting a woman at the counter of a lending library asking for a copy of the Bible. "Bible?" muses the attendant. "Bible! Never heard of it. Who's the author?" But don't other religions claim that God is the author of their sacred books also? Mohammed believed that God dictated to him the words of the Qur'an, and Joseph Smith maintained that the words written in the Book of Mormon came directly from the mouth of God. The crucial question, however, must be this: Do the sacred books of other religions speak of God's Son as the only Savior? And are they inspired by the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? What strikes me as strange about the sacred books of other religions that purport to have come from God is that they have no reference to the plan of salvation as brought to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. The main theme of the Bible is Christ. All the Old Testament truths converge on Him and all the New Testament truths emerge from Him. He is the hub of the Bible. In the passage before us today we read how God opened the heavens at Jesus' baptism and called down: "This is my Son whom I love and with whom I am well pleased." If God is so excited about His Son, why is it that in the sacred books of other religions (said to come direct from God) there is no mention of Him?
O Father, I can understand the pleasure that You find in Your Son because I find pleasure in Him too. Your love is so infinitely greater than mine, but such as I have, I give to Him, and to You, once again this day. Amen.
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