A New Trope

Pastor Doug McCoy
Hills Vineyard Christian Fellowship

Matthew 3:17 – And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.”

By the time you read this, the movie Unknown will have already been in theaters (and maybe out of theaters as well).  But at the time I’m writing this, I’m still seeing trailers for it on TV.  From these trailers I gather that this movie is about a man who wakes up from a coma not knowing who or what he is.  And that idea of persons not knowing who or what they are is not a novel idea.  It’s an idea we see in countless movies and TV shows and books and media of all kinds.  In fact, this idea is so common in media that it can be called a trope, that is, a recurring, cliché, generic idea.

This idea is pretty common in real life as well.  It is a trope of modern man.  Many if not most of us don’t know who we are.  Many if not most of us don’t know our true identity.

But Jesus didn’t have that problem.  He knew who He was.  In Matthew 3:17, God establishes Jesus’ identity for Him.  At the time of His baptism, God told Jesus, “You are my beloved Son.”  Jesus could have no doubt about His identity; God had confirmed it for Him in a concrete, unmistakable way.

And He has done the same for us.  God has repeatedly told us in His Word that we are also His beloved sons and daughters.  This is the new trope He has set up for us; this is the new truth about us that He wants us to embrace.  He has clearly set up this identity for us.  He has clearly told us that this is who we are.  May we all adopt this identity.  May we all embrace this truth.  May we all accept this new trope.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to know that we are indeed your beloved children.