Attaboy!

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17 ESV). I’ve talked about “attaboys” before. However, after reading the text for this morning again, I thought it would be good to revisit the topic again. We all need an attaboy every-now-and-then. Unfortunately there don’t seem to be enough of them to go around right now. Look into the eyes of those around you. Notice the lack of security in so many hearts. See the hesitation and doubt in the lives of those who work around you. So many people second-guess what they are doing and are so afraid of failing. We live in an incredibly negative and competitive society. The result has been a serious decline in the number of attaboys. This is a serious problem because marriages, families, and workplaces are severely compromised in their effectiveness, joy, and productivity because of the decline in attaboys. “What in the world is an attaboy?” You may be asking by now. I’m sure you’ve seen one given. Hopefully you’ve received more than a few yourselves. In fact, I bet you’ve even given a few attaboys in your time. “Attaboy! You really did a good job on that project!” “Attaboy, you’re wonderful!” You’ve may have even heard the related species of affirmations “attagirl.” I guess I never really saw the theological importance of attaboys until I read the story of the baptism of Jesus for the millionth time. I really wasn’t looking for this truth. I was doing a study of the significance of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus. I had studied the theological implications of Jesus’ baptism in the gospels: it is the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry, it is the fulfillment of the enthronement Psalms, it is Jesus entering into his role as God’s Messiah, it is the hand-off of John the Baptist’s ministry to Jesus. Then it struck me. “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.” What an affirmation! God affirmed his relationship, his love, and his pleasure in his Son. What’s more, he did it to prepare Jesus for the battle with Satan that was about to take place in the desert. Remember what the first thing the Evil One says to Jesus in the temptation? “If you really are the Son of God...” “Sorry about that Satan, but I’ve got that one nailed down. I’m his beloved Son who gives him pleasure. He just told me.” Jesus could have confidently told him. A similar thing happens just before his final trip to Jerusalem. “This is my Son, whom I love...” Jesus goes into his most important and heartbreaking battle with a divine attaboy from his Father! So, if Jesus needed an attaboy giving Father before he faced his greatest trials, then our loved ones and coworkers need them too, don’t you think! I think you will be amazed how quickly they reproduce when given a chance! Try it.