Who Are You? The Beloved
Who Are You? The Beloved
Value, identity, and worth.
Revisiting a loved book is like sitting down with an old friend. This week has been a mad rush of Easter related preparations (Side note, I am beyond excited for this Sunday! If you are in the Wyoming area and are not plugged into a church… join us!). As I was researching and getting ready to write my message I found myself reading a book that I haven’t read in well over a decade. When I first read it, it was one of those books that spoke to me in profound ways. It articulated so much of what I was working through in my heart. I often wondered if it was reading my mind. It gave me life and single handedly led me to getting a masters degree in Spiritual Formation. The book is The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen.
As I opened it again this week… I found myself yet again being drawn into it. It felt like a warm blanket for my cold and weary soul. I love the vulnerability as Nouwen reflects on the Prodigal Son and his own journey with Christ. I found myself really taken by this quote:
Home is the center of my being, where I can hear the voice that says, “You are my beloved. On you my favor rests,” the same voice that gave life to the first Adam and spoke to Jesus, the second Adam. The same voice that speaks to all the children of God and sets them free to live in the midst of a dark world while remaining in the light. I have heard that voice. It has spoken to me in the past and continues to speak to me now. It is the never-interrupted voice of love speaking from eternity and giving life and love wherever it is heard. When I hear that voice, I know that I am home with God and have nothing to fear. As the beloved of my heavenly Father, “I can walk in the valley of darkness: no evil would I fear.” As the beloved I can “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils.” Having “received without charge,” I can “give without charge.” As the Beloved, I can confront, console, admonish, and encourage without fear of rejection or need for affirmation. As the Beloved I can suffer persecution without desire for revenge and receive praise without using it as a proof of my goodness. As the Beloved I can be tortured and killed without ever having to doubt that the love that is given to me is stronger than death. As the Beloved I am free to live and give life, free also to die while giving life.
Henri Nouwen - Return Of the Prodigal Son
I will be talking through a chunk of this Sunday in my Easter message, but I found myself thinking through this throughout the week. I found myself asking, “who I am?” There are so many ways to answer that question! I am a friend, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a pastor, a neighbor… to just name a few. Each of these titles carry with it certain responsibilities and burdens. But deep down… who am I? Maybe a better question is, “Where do I find my worth?”
Before I am any of those other titles… I am reminded that I am Beloved. This is a state of being. This is where my identity comes from. It is through this identity that I am able to be the best friend, husband, father, son, brother, pastor, and neighbor that I can be… without fear of judgement. Without fear of judgement because the One whose opinion matters most has given me His favor. In this I find freedom. Freedom from my own insecurities, my weaknesses, my obsession with being loved.
So often I lose sight of my identity of the Beloved. I surround myself with voices that drown out the loving voice of God. I find myself hanging on the words of others… constantly in search of the next compliment to overcome the last negative word spoken about me or something I tried to do. So easily do I find myself lured away and defined by the opinions of others. But those voices do not define me. I am the Beloved on whom His favor rests… irregardless of what others may think.
Who are you? Where do you find your worth? My prayer is that you hear the voice of God that calls you His Beloved on whom His favor rests. My prayer is that you allow Him to be the one who ascribes you your worth… and that you see the love of the Father who stops at nothing to love, redeem, and bless His children.