You are God's Beloved!

I wanted to share an excerpt from a book Francis & I are reading for our Spiritual Formation for the Deaconate program. The book is called SPIRITUAL DIRECTION: WISDOM FOR THE LONG WALK OF FAITH.  The book is a collection of writings that were put together by 2 of Henri Nouwen's students after he died.  Nouwen is one of my favorite theologians and writers.  Francis & I had the privilege of meeting him many years ago and in person he reflected a strong gentleness and deep peace.  The chapter I was reading from this morning was titled "Who Am I?" The Chapter and the Prayer Exercise at the end assisted me in taking one more step into the reality of who I am. I am a beloved daughter of God.  For me that identity was deepened when I became a mother.  My children are beloved by me, not because of anything they did or do, just because they are. They are my beloved children.  

 

There is nothing that my children can do or say or possess that will make me love them any more or any less than I do.  There are things that they do that I don't like, and things they do that I get concerned about.  There are things that they do that I well up in pride that they accomplished....but nothing that causes me to love them less or more.  I can't even fathom that God loves me even more than I love my children! 

 

For the last several years I have written down an "Affirmation of Who I Am" every morning that starts with "I am a woman of unwavering faith married to an incredible man."  After reading the chapter I share below and spending time in prayer I am adding "I am God's beloved daughter!"  to my affirmation.  It truly is the ultimate affirmation.

 

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Excerpt from Chapter 3 of SPIRITUAL DIRECTION:

 

THE ULTIMATE AFFIRMATION

For many years I had read, reflected on, and taught the gospel words in Luke 3 in the story of Jesus' baptism, but only in my later years have they taken on a meaning far beyond the boundaries of my own religious tradition.  God's words, "You are my beloved" reveal the most intimate truth about all human beings, whether they belong to an particular tradition or not.  The ultimate spiritual temptation is to doubt this fundamental truth about ourselves and trust in alternative identities.

Sometimes we answer the question "Who am I?" with the response, "I am what I do."  When I do good things and I have a little success in life, I feel good about myself.  But when I fail, I start getting depressed.  And as I get older and can't do much, all I can say is, "Look what I did in my life...look, look, look, I did something good."

Or we might say, "I am what other people say about me." What people say about you has great power.  When people speak well of you, you can walk around quite freely.  But when somebody starts saying negative things about you, you might start feeling sad.  When someone talks against you, it can cut deep into your heart.  Why let what others say about you - good or ill - determine who you are?

You might also say, "I am what I have."  For example, I am a Dutch person, with kind parents, a fine education, and good health. But as soon as I lose any of it, if a family member dies, if my health goes, or if I lose my property, then I can slip into darkness. 

How much of our energy goes into defining ourselves by deciding, "I am what I do", "I am what others say about me", "I am what I have?"  When that's the case, life often follows a repetitive up-an-down motion.  When people speak about me, and when I do good things, and when I have a lot, I am quite up and excited.  But when I start losing, when I suddenly find out that I can't do some task anymore, when I learn that people talk against me, when I lose my friends, then I slip into the pit.

What I want to say to you is that this whole zigzag approach is wrong.  I am not what I do, and you are not what you do, or what others say about you or what you possess.  "YOU ARE GOD'S BELOVED!"  I hope that you can hear these words as spoken to you with all the tenderness and force that love can hold.  My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being - "You are the Beloved!"

The voice that speaks from above and from within whispers softly or declares loudly: "You are my Beloved son or daughter, on you my favor rests."  It certainly is not easy to hear that voice in a world filled with voices that shout: "You are no good, you are ugly, you are worthless, you are despicable, you are nobody unless you can demonstrate the opposite."

These negative voices are so loud and so persistent that it is easy to believe them.  That the trap of self-rejection.  It is the trap of being a fugitive hiding from your truest identity.  "YOU ARE GOD'S BELOVED!"