Matthew 3:17 English Standard Version (ESV) and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

It just occurred to me this morning that in this verse God expresses His pleasure in His Son and Jesus had not yet begun His ministry. Jesus had done nothing worthy of pleasure, yet God was pleased.

This is one of our emotional entanglements where we have, to do something to please God.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 English Standard Version

A Life Pleasing to God

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

This word from Peter to others is an emotional appeal, to encourage them. In modern language it might sound like “You are doing good, keep it up.” His inclusion of pleasing God goes to the emotional side of man who does things to please his earthly father. Those are human emotions and not spiritual realities.

What was left out of Matthew 3:17 but included in the other gospels was the instruction “listen to Him.” That is a foreknowledge of the works that Jesus would be doing that had nothing to do with God the Father’s pleasure in His Son.

If our motivation to walk by faith is to please God then every time we feel like we have failed we will see God the Father as being displeased with us. That is not true. We are displeased with ourselves and treat God as if He were an earthly father. That is not healthy for this relationship because just as we tend to avoid our earthly fathers when we fail, we will shy away from Father God when we feel that way.

This is why we are given scriptures that clearly show us that no matter how we feel about what we have done, there is no place we can hide from God.

If we still cannot reconcile our emotions about our failures then consider this: Jesus is our advocate before the Father. (1 John 2:1)

Matthew 19:20-22 English Standard Version

20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This lesson is about perception of perfection.

Do the scriptures say Christians are perfect?

The perception of perfection is illusionary. We will not be perfected until we are translated in eternity.

1 John 1:8 English Standard Version (ESV) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

What can Christians do to change the perception of what it is to be a Christian?

Psalm 37:37 King James Version (KJV) Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Psalm 37:37 English Standard Version (ESV) Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

I had to search the KJV to find “perfect man” where the ESV refers to us as blameless. We do not hold ourselves blameless, that is the opinion of God towards those of us that have been justified by faith in Christ.

We have the peace of God that shows us we are walking by faith in His will. When we lose that peace, we can stop, see why we lost our peace, confess our condition and move on because He is just to forgive us our humanity.

We cannot change the perception the world has of us if we cannot keep the peace of God that shows us that our walk by faith is still on the path to His will.

We seek to please God, not the world.