Red It should be done

Red Letters Matthew 3:15

“It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” Matthew 3:15

The first recorded words of Jesus in the gospel are words of submission to his Father.

Jesus had come to be baptized by John, and John was eager to turn the tables. I love the way the NLT says it in verse 14, “But John tried to talk him out of it.” (And thus began a long line of people trying to talk Jesus out of things.)

But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” And John agreed to baptize him.

Jesus submits to the Father, therefore John (insert your name here) submits to Jesus.

Submission gets a bad rap, and it has been incredibly abused, so we must be careful about not submitting to destructive leaders. However a life of non-submission of “I did it my way” is also incredibly destructive. Richard Foster says it this way, “The obsession to demand that things go the way we want them to go is one of the greatest bondages in human society today.”

The beautiful thing about these words to weary souls is that we do not have to carry the burden of decision. We just have to carry out the directions and commands of God.

Submission is a gift, when we submit to someone who sees us, loves us, values us, and cares for us.

Immediately after the baptism, these words are recorded, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” Matthew 3:17

We can submit to Jesus because we are dearly loved sons and daughters of God who delights in us.

A Note from Aaron:

This is my first in the “Red Letters to a Weary Soul.” Each Friday, I will be walking through the gospels (beginning with Matthew on the words of Jesus.) I believe that the words of Jesus are exactly what every weary soul needs. Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) I’m looking forward to sharing these words and reflections directly for you who are weary.

I will be posting them each Friday for subscribers. (This one is a free preview) I’ve been debating whether to have subscribers, but I said yes for a few reasons: Heather, Micah, and Kasen.

Writing these letters has been a gift to you, but also a gift to me. It has unlocked the writer in me in a fresh and exciting way. I get up early and write so that I do not take away from my work time or my family time, but I am (ironically) weary sometimes at the end of some days.

If I am going to continue in this, then it makes sense that it is beneficial to the ones I love the most, so any income (and I have no illusions of becoming rich from this) will go towards our family time.

In addition to the Weekly Red Letters to a Weary Soul, subscribers can also expect a “What I’m Learning” email at the end of each month. I’ll share the books, articles, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc. that have been most influential to me that month. I hope this is helpful to you!

The standard Letters to a Weary Soul will continue to be twice a week and those will continue to be available to everyone.

If you are interested in being a paid subscriber, then it is $6 a month or $60 a year. https://aarontiger.substack.com/subscribe You can also give a gift subscription if you know someone who would benefit from it!

Thank you again for being a part of this community. You continue to be a gift to me.

Love,

Aaron