“Your life of belovedness is able to wait, anticipate and not have to prove your worthiness as you are already worthy of the Lord’s best as you rest in Christ.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 20, 2023
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me. Galatians 1:15-16
There is a process of moving beyond knowing we are God’s beloved to truly becoming the Lord’s beloved by growing more and more intimate with Jesus. Henri Nouwen so clearly articulates this very important process of experiencing God’s belovedness in daily life:
“As long as ‘being the Beloved’ is little more than a beautiful thought or a lofty idea that hangs above my life to keep me from becoming depressed, nothing really changes. What is required is to become the Beloved in the commonplaces of my daily existence and, bit by bit, to close the gap that exists between what I know myself to be and the countless realities of everyday life. Becoming the Beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am thinking of, talking about, and doing from hour to hour.”
The Apostle Paul, who by nothing short of a divine miracle, transitioned from persecuting the Lord to pleasing the Lord. Since Christ’s love had transformed his heart of hate into a heart of love, he was a man on a mission to please God…and as His beloved…revealed Jesus to him. Love is the best accountability…as you do not want to disappoint someone you love…such is Paul’s heart toward the Lord…always seeking to engage where God is working and join Him. For Paul, becoming God’s beloved was a life conscious of pleasing Christ, called by His grace.
“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13, NKJV).
When you respond to God’s call of grace, you are prone to be led by a prayerful response, not a defensive reaction. Instead of you promoting your merits, you trust another to be your advocate. Your life of belovedness is able to wait, anticipate and not have to prove your worthiness as you are already worthy of the Lord’s best as you rest…in Christ. Ever conscious of your belovedness, you make room for Christ in all of your life…your house of love is furnished by faith in Jesus. The clutter of fear is removed from closed-up closets and restocked with the secure emotions of belief in your belovedness. Your pleasing God…releases His revelation of Jesus’ love for you.
Like Paul, consider your resumé of accomplishments as smelly and unnecessary compared to what God’s grace has accomplished in your life. You grow more conscious of your belovedness the less you are aware of what you have gained by reasoning and doing without reference to your righteous Creator. Similar to a parent who desires to provide all the wants and needs of a child who is pleasing to her parents, so your heavenly Father has untold blessings in store for you. Divine gifts that you cannot perceive or even ask or think. His revelation of Christ’s love to your spirit is His most valuable gift to be cherished and shared…as you grow to become His beloved!
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:15-16, NKJV).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, continue to grow my awareness of being your beloved through Christ’s love, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
Consider writing a Scripture verse like 2 Thessalonians 2:13 on your phone’s calendar and set a daily alert to remind you of your belovedness.
Related Reading
Deuteronomy 33:12; Song of Solomon 6:3; Philemon 1:16; 2 Peter 3:15
Worship Resource
Jonathan David and Melissa Helser: I Am Your Beloved
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