Beloved Before the Wilderness
- timothyrsouthern
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:17 (NKJV) “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness…” — Matthew 4:1 (NKJV)
On Fat Tuesday, the world leans into feasting—one last celebration before the leaner days of Lent. Historically, Christians used this day to enjoy the richness of what would soon be set aside: butter, sugar, meat, the fullness of the table before the sparseness of the season ahead.
But beneath the cultural layers of parades and revelry, such as Mardi Gras, lies a quieter truth: Fat Tuesday is the hinge between blessing and wilderness, between hearing that we are beloved and stepping into the season that tests that very identity.
Matthew captures this same movement with startling abruptness. One moment, Jesus rises from the Jordan, dripping with the Father’s delight. The heavens open. The Spirit descends. The voice of God declares with joy that Jesus is His beloved. And then—without pause, without celebration—he is led by that same Spirit into the wilderness. The blessing is not undone by the desert; it is what carries Him through it.
This is also the pattern of our spiritual lives. We do not enter Lent to earn God’s love. We enter Lent already held by it. The wilderness does not question our belovedness; it reveals it. And the temptations Jesus faces begin with the same whisper that haunts us: “If you are…” Lent invites us to return to the voice that speaks first and truest: “You are my beloved.”
As we stand on the threshold of Ash Wednesday, we carry both truths—feasting and fasting, joy and dust, blessing and wilderness. We begin not with what we must do, but with what God has already said.
God of grace, as we step from celebration into the quiet of Lent, let Your voice be the one we hear most clearly. Remind us that we are Your beloved, not because of our strength but because of Your mercy. Lead us through the wilderness with courage, honesty, and hope. Shape our hearts to trust the blessing that goes before us. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Tim
