I am thankful to be called Beloved

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-13

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Reflection: If there is one term which I would long to hear from God’s lips, it is to call me “Beloved.” I am loved and I am loved deeply in ways I may never truly know. To say one is beloved, one is truly known and valued as a child of God. It’s God’s way of introducing those gathered around the river and witnessing Jesus’ baptism. It’s God’s voice from heaven to the disciples present when Jesus transfigured. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;” When we hear these words we know how deeply this relationship flows between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but it is also one that invites us in. A relationship that never gives up or stops. A relationship that says as the writer of 1 John encourages its readers, love one another and God lives in us.

Prayer

Loving God, we’ve been invited into a relationship through the Holy Spirit and Christ’s love as one of mutual, amazing love. We are grateful for such gift. We are humbled by such gift. We are emboldened through such gift to share such love with those around us. May the Spirit continue to guide us in our giving and receiving now and forever. Amen.