God and You: “With Whom I Am Well Pleased”

Dr. Michael Balcomb’s Copenhagen message on God and you: “We are God’s sons and daughters with whom God is well pleased.”

Part 1 of extracts from a sermon titled “With Whom I Am Well Pleased”, that Dr. Michael Balcomb, the President of the Europe and the Middle East Region of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, gave at the Sunday service in Copenhagen, Denmark on 10th November 2024. Slightly edited.

See part 2: How to Be a Filial Son or Daughter

See part 3: “To Change World, Treat Each One as Child of God”

“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” (Matthew 17:5)

We don’t think of ourselves like that very often. Right?

God first says this to Jesus, when Jesus is being baptized, the interesting thing is at that moment, as far as the Bible is concerned, Jesus hasn’t done anything. He hasn’t given any sermons; he hasn’t done any miracles. He hasn’t turned water into wine. He hasn’t fed the 5,000. He hasn’t gone to the temple. He hasn’t become a sacrifice. He hasn’t done any of that.

It’s right at the very beginning. And God is giving him this blessing,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

So what does Jesus say in response? What would you say in response? I know what I’d say. I’d say something like this,

“Oh, God, I’ll do my best. I’ll try to be the son in whom you can be well pleased. I’ll work hard and try to live up to that great expectation.”

But Jesus doesn’t say that. He doesn’t say anything, actually. He just receives it, just lets it come upon him. Because God is well pleased. Not because of what we do, not because of what we think, not even because of what we say, but simply because of who we are.

We are God‘s sons and God‘s daughters with whom God is well pleased. No conditions, no qualifications other than that. Not because you’ve been a faithful member of the church for. Not because you are a missionary working in another country. Not because you were kind to your wife this morning and made her happy. Not because of any of those things.

It’s so hard for us to understand the heart of God, that God loves us just because of who we are. True Father used to call it the law of resemblance. Do you remember him talking about that?

We all like to see ourselves, and we like to see ourselves reflected in others. If you look at an old photograph, at least if you’re like me, you want to see, “Where am I? There I am. And then, who else can I see?”

If you look at your children or your grandchildren, you like to see them because they resemble you.

I remember when Mother came to Munich. Did any of you go to Munich for the Bloom festival?

The day before the festival, Mother gave me a very hard time. She did not say, “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”

She said,

“You haven’t really done well, have you, in Europe? Because we’ve had a mission here for 50 years, and you’re telling me we are not that many members. […] There are many countries where even to count to 100 members is difficult.”

She really emphasized this point. But then, just when we were all wondering, how we could get out of the room, one of Mother‘s assistants, Wonju McDevitt, brought Mother her phone. And on the phone was a video from her great granddaughter, Jeon-ju. And Mother started watching this video. And then she just started giggling like a little girl. She said, “Oh, that’s so cute!” And she watched it three or four times. Then she made us all watch it as well.

So those of you who are grandparents or parents, you’ll know that when other people show you their grandchildren, it’s not the same. Not the same as seeing your own grandchildren or your own children.

Mother was almost uncontrollably happy just to see her great granddaughter. I’ve never seen her like that. She was just so happy and laughing.

I thought afterwards,

“God is really trying to tell me something here: How happy God is with each of us.”

But we don’t know it. We feel awkward because there’s a part of us that starts to think,

“Well, wait a minute, God, you can’t really mean that, can you? Because look at me. I have doubts, I’m lazy, I make mistakes, I say things that I shouldn’t say. I sometimes upset people, or I forget them.”

I’m just thinking of all the things right now; Fumiko [his wife] will be able to add more.

We think,

“You can’t love someone like me. I don’t measure up to your standards.”

But the point is, that doesn’t matter to God at all. And if we hear that voice, it’s really somebody else. Somebody else telling us,

“You’re not worthy. Of course, you’re not worthy because you don’t do this, you don’t do that.”

But that’s not true. Father gives us a good idea of this in his autobiography.

He says,

“So why did God call me? Even now, at ninety years of age, I wonder every day why God called me. Of all the people in the world, why did He choose me? It wasn’t because I had a particularly good appearance, or outstanding character, or deep conviction. I was just an unremarkable, stubborn, and foolish young boy. If God saw something in me, it must have been a sincere heart that sought Him with tears of love.” (As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, p54)

When we start to read it carefully and listen to what Father‘s saying – and Mother too; will come to that – Father is very transparent in As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen.

We all know that when Father first received the commission from Jesus, he felt,

“No, I can’t do it. I’m not worthy. Find somebody else.”

But gently – as far as we know – Jesus pursued him,

“No, no, you are that person! Of course, right now, at 15 years old, you are not the person you will become. But I will help you. I will raise you, I will teach you, and you will become the person able to do it.”

But as we heard from the above reading, even at the age of 90, Father was still wondering, “Really?”

So even Father himself could feel this constant amazement, wonder, “How could God choose me?”

Continued in part 2 How to Be a Filial Son or Daughter

See part 3: “To Change World, Treat Each One as Child of God”

Featured image above: Dr. Michael Balcomb in Copenhagen 10th November 2024. Photo: FFWPU

Related to God and you: Essence of God

More, related to God and you: God and Human Beings

Also related to God and you: The Day When Heavenly Parent’s Dream Comes True

More, related to God and you: Preparing Holy Temple for God and Becoming One

More, related to God and you: “We’re Small, But Mustn’t Forget That God Is Great”

More, related to God and you: 2025 Dedication: Sanctum to Feel Holiness of God

More, related to God and you: Teachings Make Great Strides in New Version

And more, related to God and you: In a Nutshell

Yet more, related to God and you: Brief about the Teachings

Still more, related to God and you: The Mission of the Only Begotten Daughter

Even more, related to God and you: Gender-Balanced Understanding of God and Christ

And yet more, related to God and you: God as Our Heavenly Parent (Father and Mother)

And still more, related to God and you: History of God: From Yahweh to Father to Parent

And even more, related to God and you: Religious Truth as Progressive Revelation

Also related to God and you: Essential Motherly Part of Messianic Mission

Also related to God and you: The 3 Blessings and the Process to Fulfil Them

Also related to God and you: Unchanging Truth and Its Changing Expression

Also related to God and you: The Meaning of History from Viewpoint of God

Also related to God and you: Failure of Key Persons Related to Jesus

Also related to God and you: Amazing Parallels to Jesus and Holy Spirit

Also related to God and you: Unification Principles

Also related to God and you: The Kingdom of Heaven

Also related to God and you: True Love