Know You Are Beloved by Rev. Chris Lee

Scriptures: Genesis 1:27, John 3:16, 1 John 4:16

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.

Scriptures: Matthew 1:23, John 1:14, Ephesians 1:4-5

The Greatest Moment of God’s Love

Perhaps the single greatest moment that reveals God’s love and care for His creation is the Incarnation: God becoming one of us. 

God became man, showing at that moment the worth of creation. It is not that suddenly creation found worth, but that moment shows the worth God always saw in the created world. Why did Christ come? Was it to defeat the works of the devil and defeat sin? Yes, of course it was. But Franciscans also insist on what they call, “the primacy of Christ,” which they see taught in Scripture. Simply put, the primacy of Christ means that God intended to enter creation from the beginning — it wasn’t just a backup plan to deal with sin. 

God always intended to reveal Himself to us through Jesus, to show us His love, and to bring us to Himself. The primary reason that Jesus came to earth, that God became flesh, was not only to provide a solution for our sin; it was also because of God’s love for all that He had made. He loved us and wanted us to know His love, and He wanted to make us holy by showing us the way to Him. 

Jesus’ mission was to bring us into a loving relationship with the Father through His life and His teaching. He revealed the true character of God in the world and through His ultimate revelation of God’s love: laying down His life for us. Jesus was not born to simply die; He was born to show us in His life that God is with us. He died not only for our sins but to show us the extent of God’s love for us. 

The tearing of the curtain in the Temple, as recorded in Matthew 27:51, signifies the destruction of the separation of God’s children from His presence. Jesus has in His life revealed God to us, as if God steps out of the Holy of Holies to His people and then in His death destroys the curtain which separated us from Him. His sacrifice and defeat of sin is part of His mission but not the totality of it. Jesus was born to show us the fullest revelation of God’s love for us by manifesting Himself among His creation — showing His love with His presence, His teaching, and His miracles, and then ultimately making a way for us to enter God’s presence through His death on the cross. Why? Because we are beloved! 

Breathe.

The curtain has been torn.

God is with us, and we can be with God.

We stand in awe.

Scriptures: Psalms 34:4-5, John 14:6, 1 John 1:9

Love That Drives Out Shame

We all feel shame at certain points in our lives. It’s one of the most powerful negative emotions there is. Guilt says, “I did something bad.” Shame says, “I am bad.” Shame is intimate and therefore very powerful as it whispers lies about who we are at our core. It’s the voice that says, “You’re dirty. You’re bad. You’re not enough. You’re fooling no one. You’re a mistake.” It’s the voice that says the real you is the hidden, sordid, addicted mess of your inner battles. The bits no one sees. 

We need to meet the whispered lies we hear with truth. Truth is not a concept or feeling; truth exists, and we can hold on to it. Jesus is the truth. He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Whatever bondage you feel can be broken. The shame that covers you can be lifted if you know and experience the truth. 

Jesus tells you, I know you, all of you. You are not your weaknesses, your faults, your mistakes. You are Mine, and I died for you because I know the deepest you, and it is good. 

Jesus draws us past the voices that constantly hound our minds and calls us children of God. As we read in Psalm 23:5-6, 

You prepare a table before me 

in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows. 

Surely your goodness and love will follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 

forever. 

I love this image of God taking us by the hand, sitting us down at His table, and honoring us in front of the people who represent the lies we allow ourselves to believe. 

Jesus will not condemn us when we come to Him. He will not ridicule us. He will not say, “I told you so” or “You got what you deserved.” He will love us, accept us, and heal us with His love because He is love. Shame is a straitjacket, but Christ came for freedom. We are children of God, and we are called to be free from shame. That’s why Jesus died for us. He didn’t die for the “clean” special ones; He died for us while we were lost in our sin and pinned down by shame. Sometimes our shame also comes out of things that we’ve done wrong, and we feel that because we’ve done something bad, we are a bad person. There is nothing that can’t be forgiven if you only come to Him and ask. 

Truth is found in Jesus.

Invite Jesus into your thoughts, into your shame, into the dark places.

He knows about them already.

He can bring healing and restoration.

He can do all things.

Breathe.

Scriptures: Psalms 46:10, Isaiah 55:3, John 10:2-4, Revelation 3:20

Finding Love in Silence

As a parent, I learned new skills the hard way — through trial, error, and the grind. I quickly learned my children’s cries: a hungry cry, a sad cry, a hurt cry, a “Quick! Something is really wrong!” cry. I also was able to pick out my baby’s cry in a room of crying babies. It’s not like I could describe why her cry was different. A cry is a cry, but somehow my nervous system, on hearing my kid’s cry, knew that one was mine. 

We, too, can learn the Holy Spirit’s voice. We can learn to hear God in the midst of all the noise around us. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice” (John 10:27). The analogy is a simple one: sheep get to know their shepherd’s call. 

So, how do we hear God? Because, and do not be fooled, we need to train and practice. Of course, God can and does occasionally make it blatantly obvious He is speaking. However, it is rare that God speaks with an audible voice, and perhaps the reason it’s so rare is because the main way God communicates is through relationships embedded within a faith community. The way God usually works is through the Holy Spirit guiding us, teaching us, and speaking to our spirit through our community and the Scripture we read. To hear God, we need to know God and be open to hearing Him speak into our lives. 

Being comfortable and confident in your scriptural knowledge is a primary way to know God’s voice. Developing an ability to be comfortable sitting in silence — with others or on your own — while being surrendered to any action or intention that God might have opens you up to getting to know God’s presence and voice. 

There is a rich humanity to be found here in silence with yourself and God. We hear about pollution a lot, but I think noise pollution is a huge danger to our souls, and we could all do with rediscovering the gift of silence. Moving into a place of interior silence is not about escaping yourself but becoming truly human. We are humans made in the image of God. He calls us to have faith in Him. Faith is unique to us as created beings. To sit in silence with God has no logical basis. It demands faith and teaches us what it means to be human and, ironically, what it means to be fully alive. Peace and security come from knowing who we are, and that comes from knowing God, who teaches us who we are. We are found in Him, where we are loved, and nothing can take us from that love. When we stand on Jesus, we stand on solid ground. That secure place breathes peace and rest into our lives and any situations we may face. 

Breathe.

Move into silence.

Be here with Him who knows and loves you.

Scriptures: John 15:9, Ephesians 2:4-6, 1 John 3:1

You Are Beloved

In my work as a priest, I have been around dying people and sat with them in their final moments. The words they utter to their family if they can — and the words of the people around them — are always the same: “I love you.” Why? Because knowing we are loved is the point of life. It’s ground zero for everything. 

God wants you to know that you are loved. The Incarnation shows us that, and having a good understanding of the Incarnation will help you understand that you are loved. God became flesh to be with us. He loved, laughed, wept — and He was also beaten and killed for each one of us. The great patterns of God’s love are revealed in our world. He loves and cares for us. How do we know that? Love is action, and our God is a God who came towards us. His action teaches us who He is and who we are. God draws near. 

Living in the light of the Incarnation is much deeper than simply trying to do the right thing or having the right answers. It is about accepting who we are, as revealed by Jesus Christ. He is “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15), not the only born. We were created by God, we fell, and then we were redeemed by God through Christ and restored to our place as God’s children who followed in the footsteps of Jesus, the firstborn. We join Christ as children of the Kingdom. In this section of Scripture, Paul is trying to help us see our place as God’s beloved and then act accordingly. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom, and we are its residents. We are called to live out this Kingdom residency. Our own identity is wrapped up in God and also revealed in the Incarnation: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

Yes, suffering and brokenness and pain and rejection will also be part of your experience. Failing — and accepting your failings with repentance — is a greater part of God’s call than your success is. It is perhaps the most profound sign of your Kingdom residency: that you are loved and saved by your Creator. This truth marks your life, and living it out sets your life apart as holy. You become involved in God’s Kingdom, redeeming creation. 

Yes, suffering and brokenness and pain and rejection will also be part of your experience. Failing — and accepting your failings with repentance—is a greater part of God’s call than your success is. It is perhaps the most profound sign of your Kingdom residency. 

Through all of it, you are called to know this: 

You are loved, and you are to love as Christ loved. 

Breathe.

You are a beautiful mess.

You are His beloved.