You are God’s Beloved

Picture of The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

A Practice in Listening to the Inner Voice of Love 

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

—Luke 1:26-33

Beloved,

My work in your life always begins with your belovedness. You are first and foremost a beloved child of God. Mary was my favored one; she didn’t have to be the Messiah’s mother for me to love her. I loved her as a young, unwed girl in the unremarkable town of Nazareth. I loved her.

Before you can say “yes” to my call on your life, you have to know and receive yourself as the beloved. Hear my voice greeting you with delight—“you are my favored one! I am with you.”

When this is your starting point, your tasks in the world will simply be an unfolding of your beloved identity. Instead of striving, you will be at rest in me—delighting in my delight in you. Then my Spirit can do the work. It can conceive my plans and give birth to unfathomable sources of new life.

I long to do great things in and through you—and I give life upon life. I give you life, I sustain your life, and I produce life even from your barren places. All you have to do is say, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

—Love