Belovedness by Sarah KrogerSample

Belovedness: Listening for God’s Voice

Before I leave the house, my husband always asks if I have my wallet. I forget it all the time, and he says it’s good to have your ID with you so you can identify yourself. He’s right - when I don’t have my wallet, I’m lost, in a sense. If someone asked, I couldn’t take proof out of my pocket and point to who I am.

The definition of beloved is, “to be dearly loved” or “pleased with”. From the moment we were merely a thought in the mind of God, each of us were marked “beloved” as the very core of our identity. It’s not simply something about us, it’s our identity. There’s nothing we’ve done to earn it. There’s nothing we’ve done or that’s been done to us that can take it away. Beloved is who we are. And yet, how many of us live our lives out of that truth? 

We can be our own worst enemy. Negative self-talk has probably plagued humanity since the beginning. Anything can set it off. A bad hair day, how you reacted to a situation at work or school, accidentally snapping at your spouse or child, an interaction with a friend. Before you know it, you’re beating yourself up without putting up a fight. If a friend said some of the things to us that we say to ourselves, they would no longer be our friend. And yet we allow our internal chatterbox to persist, often without even realizing it. 

I’m reminded of a stained-glass window in a chapel in which I used to spend a lot of time.  The image was of Jesus holding a sheep close to his chest. This is the goal of a Christian. To be so close to the heart of the shepherd that you hear his heartbeat and can conform your life to that rhythm. When you do this, you’ll go into each day knowing you are loved, not looking for ways to earn it. This is freedom.

Our identity is not based on our accomplishments or failings, what people think about us, or how we view ourselves in the mirror. Our identity is that we are the beloved children of a relentless Father who loves us unconditionally. What things keep us from owning our belovedness? How do we embrace who God made us to be? It’s time to silence the chatterbox and allow the truth to grow. It’s time to own our belovedness.