Know You Are Beloved by Rev. Chris LeeSample

Day 1: The Deepest Part of You Is Love

“Teach me who You are. Teach me who I am.” What a simple, almost perfect prayer.

It is pregnant with meaning and depth yet communicates with a classic simplicity that resonates today.

Who are You? Who am I?

The world loves to inform us of who we are. But who does God say we are?

We are each created with the divine stamp deep inside which whispers to us that our identity as humans comes from God. The first and most important thing about who we are is that we are loved and that our worth doesn’t come from the words or actions of others, our achievements, or our lack thereof. Our starting point is that we are loved by God — we are His, beloved. We are not like the grit in an oyster that over time, with God’s grace, becomes a pearl. We start off profoundly precious. At the beginning of our story, we are created good. We are of infinite worth because we are infinitely loved by an infinite God. This is where we start. I’m not saying we are perfect. We do sin. The Fall happened and is part of our story. We get it wrong. We get hurt, and we hurt. But none of this affects who we truly are or who God created us to be.

When God created us — you and me — He created us in His “image” (Genesis 1:26). We are created by love and from love and in love. Thomas Merton describes it well: “To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name.”

The deepest you is love, and love is the language you were formed by.

You were conceived and made in love.

You are lovely, and you are loved.

This is why the gospel is “Good News.” When we think about the Christian message — its genesis, its beginning, which is your beginning — it is good. It says that you are loved, and you are God’s own.

Think about that: the deepest part of you is love. You were formed in love. Too many of us — including me — doubt this deep down. Do you believe this about yourself?

You are loved.

You belong to God.

Breathe.

Remember:

The deepest me is love.

I am loved.

1. Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions, 2007), 60.