i read henri nouwen’s “life of the beloved” again recently. i could say a lot on this, but for now i just want to highlight two passages.
the foundation for nouwen’s premise is found in matthew 3:16-17, mark 1:10-11 and luke 3:21-22: “you are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.” i absolutely love to think about the fact that i am God’s beloved. it’s similar to contemplating the fact that i’m created in God’s image. i think i big part of that “image” is the desire to be in communion with each other, as i’ve mentioned before. i think God desires that we communicate with Him and each other in love. God communicates to me that i’m His beloved. at any point in time that i doubt myself, this is one unshakeable truth.
part of realizing one’s own belovedness translates into a desire to share that with other people. nouwen writes to his friend, “the greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. i can give that gift only insofar as i have claimed it for myself.” this rings so true for me. when i think about the people i love, of all the things i want to communicate to those people, their own belovedness is supreme. i’m often known to say, “i just want to love on people,” or, “i just want to make people feel special…” i realize i risk sounding like the ultimate cheese ball, but it’s so exciting to claim God’s love for myself… how could i not share it with others? especially with those i love?
lauren laughs 