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Belovedness
Here’s a quick exercise:
Pick five words to describe yourself.
I’ll give you a minute.
OK. Which five words did you choose? Chances are (unless you read the title of this blog post ahead of time), the words you chose had something to do with your personality or maybe a physical characteristic or two…
—funny
—shy
—short
—extroverted
—forgetful
Over the years we accumulate a lot of words which we think apply to ourselves. Some are true, some maybe not so much. Some we like, some maybe not so much.
As we look at ourselves in light of the events of Good Friday and Easter, though, there are other words that come to the forefront. Or at least they should.
—forgiven
—delivered
—restored
—cleansed
—welcomed
And at the heart of all these is another word, one that applies to us…even if we have a hard time accepting it. Because sometimes we do.
—beloved
It’s a word that to some might seem out-of-date and out-of-place, like something that’s more at home in a Shakespearean sonnet or a romantic operetta than in a list of words we’d use for ourselves. But if we are going to take to heart the message of Easter, it’s a word that is well worth considering. The more we reflect on what God has done for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus, it’s an inescapable truth:
We are God’s beloved.
If we find this word an uncomfortable fit for self-reference, I wonder if it’s more than an issue of antiquated language. If we resist the word, maybe it’s because we don’t fully accept the truth behind it. Maybe we don’t consider ourselves beloved.
I think many of us go through our spiritual lives feeling as though God’s acceptance of us is a reluctant one, as if he only welcomes us because he’s obligated to. There can be a lot of reasons we might feel this way—it might be rooted in a false understanding of ourselves, or a false understanding of God. We might wrestle with shame, thinking, “I know God forgives my sin, but I still think he probably doesn’t like me all that much.” Or maybe we struggle with envy, thinking, “Look at how [insert name here] is blessed by God. God must love them more than me.” Or it might just be that the image of God we’ve been presented with over the years has been lacking, painting him as a spiteful deity instead of a loving Father.
Friends, don’t give in to these lies. Rest in these truths:
God welcomes you with open arms.
God delights in you.
You are his beloved.
In the first epistle of John, we are reminded of this:
“Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children.”—1 John 3:1 (TPT)
His very own beloved children. That’s what we are. We can know this because of what we see and experience in our commemoration of Easter:
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8 (NIV)
So let’s finish with a quick exercise:
Pick five words to describe yourself. And make sure one of them is “beloved.”
I’ll give you a minute.
He says, "You're mine, I smiled when I made you
I find you beautiful in every way
My love for you is fierce and unending
I'll come to find you, whatever it takes
My beloved
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) How well do you “own your belovedness?” If you sense resistance within yourself, what might be behind that? How can you bring it to God in prayer?
2) In the words of today’s song:
It's time to hear what your father has spoken
It's time to own your belovedness
What kinds of things help you hear God speaking that kind of love into your life? Where are you most likely to be open to hearing him? What might prevent you from hearing him?
3) Think back on your walk with God and spend some time giving thanks for the people who made God’s love real for you, who made you feel “beloved” in a way that reflected him.
4) Do you sense any resistance within yourself to the lyric, “I find you beautiful in every way?” Bring to God in prayer the things about yourself that push back against that thought, and ask him to help you see yourself through his eyes.
5) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”—Ephesians 3:17b-19 (CSB)
Even Still
As we continue to bask in the light of the Resurrection, we can’t help but reflect on the wonderful gifts that are available to us as a result of the cross and the empty tomb. We have forgiveness for sin, the offer of new life, and the promise of life eternal…all available to us because of Christ’s sacrifice and his victory over death.
But even in the light of all these promises, we are not spared the trials of this world. Jesus himself proclaimed that we will face troubles in this world:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.”—John 16:33a (ESV)
But he followed that proclamation with a promise:
“But take heart; I have overcome the world.”—John 16:33b (ESV)
This is a promise we need to breathe in. We need to let it take root in our soul and allow it to transform us. Martin Luther said of these words from John 16:33, “Such a saying as this is worthy to be carried from Rome to Jerusalem on one’s knees.” It is a promise that we should never let out of our grasp.
But we do. We forget it so often. We look at the struggles in this life and so often we think they are ours alone to bear. Why do we do that?
I remember a friend who used to have a poster on their wall that said something to the effect, “Lord help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that you and I can't handle together.” I think it’s that word “together” that we sometimes forget. We remember that God has promised to be with us through every trial, but for some of them it’s as if we barrel straight into them on our own and assume we have everything we need to conquer it.
We don’t. In fact, that’s not our job. Jesus didn’t say, “Take courage, you have overcome the world.” He said “Take courage, I have overcome the world.” He didn’t say, “In your ability to persevere you may have peace.” He said, “In me you may have peace.”
Whatever the reason we sometimes forget this important truth, there is a spiritual practice that can help us recenter when we feel the troubles of this world are too much. And it’s pretty much a single word:
STOP
When the storms of life seem overwhelming, rather than attacking them straight on we need to stop and be still. We need to stop and listen, because there is an invitation to us being spoke amidst the clamor and chaos:
Come to me.
If we’re going to know what it means to find peace, we need to center ourselves in the one who said, “In me you may have peace.” The image here is not finding peace because the trials stop. It’s of an abiding peace that comes from an abiding faith. And the one who offers that peace calls us to come to him even when the wind and waves are battering against us.
Will we stop and hear his invitation?
Come, you disconsolate, where'er you languish;
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) How is God calling you to STOP in the midst of your life right now and simply dwell in his peace and presence? If you are sensing that call…close your computer (or turn off your phone) and make it a priority before reading another word.
2) What can you build into your life to abide more regularly in the peace Christ offers in the midst of storms?
3) Do you resonate with the temptation to “barrel through” difficulties and try to take care of them in your own strength? Spend some time before God relinquishing any false self-empowerment that leads you astray, and receive the peace and power that only he provides.
4) Today’s song, based on a classic hymn, contains some wonderful names and images for God:
Joy of the desolate
Light of the straying
Hope of the penitent
Comforter
Bread of life
Do any of these resonate with you today? What about them speaks to you?
5) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”—Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
You Cannot Be Stopped
There are many wonderful truths for us during this season following Easter Sunday, but in these days of chaos and turmoil there is one message of the empty tomb that resonates with me very deeply right now:
God’s love cannot be overcome and his purposes cannot be defeated.
The message of Easter morning is that not even death has the power to hold back the love of God. At the cross the enemies of God staged their best and most powerful assault on his purposes, and what looked like victory for them on Friday gave way to their ultimate defeat on Sunday morning. No wonder it is the death and resurrection of Jesus that sits at the heart of one of the Apostle Paul’s most powerful passages about God’s love, from Romans chapter 8:
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
‘For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”—Romans 8:31-37 (NIV)
If God is for us, who can be against us? Paul is writing to people who knew firsthand what it was to face persecution for their faith in Jesus, and yet he reminds them that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, they (and we, too) can be absolutely certain that the forces which stand against the love and purposes of God will never know victory—they are rendered impotent next to the power of the cross and the empty tomb. In the knowledge of that truth, Paul is able to make a declaration that has provided comfort for Christians through the centuries:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
How we need those words today! There are so many forces in the world right now that seem more determined than ever to unleash a plague of discouragement on God’s people. It is very tempting to think they have the upper hand, but Scripture is absolutely clear on this point: THEY DO NOT. It may look that way for a season, but the love of God is supreme and the purposes of God will triumph.
As we make our way from Easter to Pentecost, we need to acknowledge that there will be days when the empty tomb seems distant and the voices of defeat loom large. When we find ourselves in those days, let’s return to Paul’s words and the glorious truth they proclaim:
God’s love cannot be stopped.
Mover of mountains
Breaker of chains
Jesus has triumphed
Over the grave
Sing hallelujah
The battle is won
Nothing can stand
Against our God
Read the rest of the lyrics here
Questions for Reflection
1) Sit prayerfully with Paul’s words in Romans 8:38-39. Name and offer to God the things from your own life that seek to separate you from God’s love. Spend some time offering up gratitude that his love is victorious.
2) In what ways have you found God to be a “mover of mountains” and a “breaker of chains?” How has your testimony been shaped by God’s power in your life?
3) What have been helpful practices and disciplines for you when the power of the empty tomb seems distant? What would be helpful for you during this Eastertide journey as a reminder of its victory?
4) Spend some time contemplating this quote and the journey to which it invites us:
“If you want a wonderful experience, take your New Testament and use a concordance to look up the two little words, ‘but God.’ See how many times human resources have been brought to an utter end; despair has gripped the heart and pessimism and gloom has settled upon a people; and there is nothing that can be done. Then see how the Spirit of God writes in luminous letters, ‘but God,’ and the whole situation changes into victory.”—Ray C. Stedman
5) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”—2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NIV)
Death Is Not the End
Of the many gifts which God pours out on his people as a result of the Resurrection, the reality that those who place their trust in Jesus need not fear death is at the same time one of the most mysterious and one of the most palpable.
We don’t know what will happen when we die. That is a mystery. We can’t begin to imagine what it will be like. All we can do is place our trust in the promise of Jesus, who said:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”—John 11:25 (NIV)
Yet even though our existence after we have broken free of these earthly bonds is a mystery, the reality of that existence is something that still impacts in the here and now. It provides hope whenever we find ourselves brushing up against the veil between this world and the next, whenever we are touched by physical death and are confronted with the truth that “…we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow.” (Job 8:9, ESV)
The past couple of years have been a painful reminder of our mortality, and not only because of a pandemic. Even as I type these words there is breaking news of more lives cut short by violence. Death is all around us, and we are all touched by it in some way. Sometimes it seems to much to bear. Because it is.
But then just when I think the weight of it all will crush me, I find myself before the one who experienced death, and yet lives. The man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, who willingly went to the grave for us, then returned for us. The one who, even as he himself was dying on the cross, turned to a thief who expressed faith and declared, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43, ESV).
Do you hear the certainty in his voice? Can you sense the assurance in his eyes as he tells a repentant sinner that death will not banish his soul to darkness?
We need to hear that certainty today, to sense that assurance once again. In part, because as followers of Christ, imbued with hope, we can provide a message this hurting world so desperately needs to hear.
But we also need to hear it for ourselves. There are times we need to simply cling to the promise that this is not the end. That those who trust in Jesus, though they lie down in death, will rise with him in new and everlasting life. There is sadness in the moment of goodbye, but there is an enduring promise of reunion in eternity with Christ.
Jesus conquered the grave so that we no longer need fear it. Today may the truth of that victory sink deep into our souls. We need it more than ever.
Comfort for the weary drying every tear
Redeeming every moment and all that's broken here
Clinging to the promise that we will rise with Him
This is not the end
This is not the end
Here is a word from songwriter Aaron Shust about today’s song:
“I began writing this song when my Uncle was slipping from this life into the next. The Bible says that when we lose someone in the Family of God, we don't grieve like the ones who have no hope. We do grieve, but our grief is temporary. I'm so grateful for our Hope: our Confidence. This song is intended to allow the listener to grieve: to experience the pain and loss. But also to cling to the promise that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Him has hope for eternal life.”—Aaron Shust
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) Spend some time sitting in God’s presence reflecting on his promise of eternal life. What prayers do you find welling up in your soul as you think about it? Offer to him your ongoing need for hope in a broken and mortal world.
2) Even though we do not weep like those who have no hope, we still weep as we experience the hurt and grief of this mortal life. How do you invite God into your moments of grief and loss?
3) There are many wonderful songs that speak to us about the hope of eternal life with Jesus. Here are a few. What songs and hymns have ministered to you in seasons of loss? If one in particular stands out, feel free to post it in the comments for today’s devotional.
4) Billy Graham once said, “Heaven doesn’t make this life less important; it makes it more important.” What does that quote say to you? How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to respond to it?
5) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”—Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)
The Road Home
There are lots of images and metaphors we use to try and capture what God has done for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We refer to it as…
—a rescue of dying souls
—a payment of immeasurable debt
—a satisfying of divine justice
—a ransom of captive prisoners
…and more. But for today’s purposes, let’s focus on this one:
—a guiding of lost wanderers
As the hymn says, we are all “prone to wander.” And before the cross and the empty tomb, we were all wanderers in a spiritual wilderness, unable to make our way home to the God who created us for relationship with himself.
But Jesus leads us out of that wilderness. He comes to us in our wanderings and shows us a way back to God. As he said in John’s gospel:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”—John 8:12 (ESV)
Whenever we talk about a soul that had been wandering far from God making their way home, the Biblical story most think of is the parable of the prodigal son. It’s an apt and powerful image—the lost son who rejects his father, claims his share of the family fortune early, and leaves home, only to find himself quickly bankrupted financially, emotionally, and spiritually. While earning a living tending to pigs (a particularly offensive job for a practicing Jew), he has a realization. As Jesus tells the story in Luke 15:
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”—Luke 15:17-20 (NIV)
It’s a beautiful image that echoes the love and patience of our heavenly Father who longs for his children to come home. But there’s a part it that, for me, doesn’t quite capture the experience of many lost souls who have found their way back to God—the son isn’t able to hear his father’s voice when he’s far from home and living among the unclean pigs. In our spiritual wanderings, the Holy Spirit is always active in the work of repentance and return. It’s not as much that we come to our senses, but that we hear the call of the one who loves us and desires that we find our way back.
Throughout our spiritual journey there are seasons when we drift away, as the hymn writer says, “prone to leave the God I love.” But God does not give up on us. He tenderly calls us to himself from whatever distant place we have run to, eager to see us renewed and restored.
At the cross and the empty tomb God called us out of death and into life. And he is still calling, still guiding lost wanderers home.
Rise up, follow me,
Come away, is the call,
With the love in your heart
As the only song;
There is no such beauty
As where you belong;
Rise up, follow me,
I will lead you home.
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Time of Reflection
For today’s reflections, you’ll be asked to sit with each verse of today’s song, followed by a question to ponder.
Verse One
Tell me, where is the road
I can call my own?
That I left, that I lost
So long ago.
All these years I have wandered
Oh, when will I know
There's a way, there's a road
That will lead me home?
1) What seasons of wandering have you known in your spiritual journey? Spend some time reflecting on what brought you to those seasons—are there patterns or common themes that can often prompt such a season in your life? Offer anything you notice to God, asking him to teach you about your own inclinations to wander.
Verse Two
After wind, after rain
When the dark is done
As I wake from a dream
In the gold of day,
Through the air there's a calling
From far away,
There's a voice I can hear
That will lead me home.
2) In seasons of wandering, how did God’s voice call to you? What did he use to show you the road that leads home? Spend some time in prayer offering gratitude to God for his faithful pursuit of us, even when we run the opposite direction.
Verse Three
Rise up, follow me
Come away, is the call
With the love in your heart
As the only song
There is no such beauty
As where you belong
Rise up, follow me
I will lead you home
3) Spend some time pondering this lyric: “There is no such beauty as where you belong.” Spend some time reflecting on what it means to find our home in God, where we belong.
4) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.”—Psalm 43:3-4 (NIV)
Let The Redeemed
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.”—Psalm 107 (NRSV)
Psalm 107 may have been written hundreds of years before Christ, but it contains a timely and relevant message for us as we make our journey through Eastertide.
Like Mary Magdalene returning from the empty tomb, like Cleopas and his friend rushing back from Emmaus with an astounding story, like the disciples filling Thomas in on what he missed, we have a story to tell: “We have seen the Lord.” We have seen his steadfast love demonstrated in the cross. We have seen his goodness and mercy in the death of his only son. And now we have seen his power and victory in the Resurrection, and like those others so long ago…we can’t be silent.
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”
Evangelism is a tricky subject to talk about in churches. Many pastors (half) jokingly refer to it as the “E” word, because it seems to strike fear, or at least uncertainty, into the hearts of so many Christians today. The responses when it’s brought up are fairly common:
—I’m no preacher. I’m not trained to evangelize.
—I’m horrible at public speaking. I get all nervous and tongue-tied.
—I’m afraid I won’t have all the answers to questions they might have.
—I don’t know enough about the Bible to share my faith.
All of these (and others like them) are built on a false premise: that sharing our faith means sharing what we know about Jesus in a compelling way that demonstrates a solid grasp of the Bible and breaks down any objections people may have.
That’s not evangelism. At least, not usually.
Evangelism, at its heart, is telling a story. Our story. Your story. It’s sharing with someone else the truth of what knowing Jesus has done for you and has meant for you. It’s talking about how knowing Jesus has freed you, healed you, comforted you, and transformed you. It’s saying, to borrow a line from the TV show The Chosen:
"I was one way...and now I am completely different.
And the thing that happened in between...was Him."
1 Peter 3 gives some wonderful advice for us as we reflect on what it means to tell our story:
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”—1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
Sharing faith isn’t about how much we know, it’s about who we know. It isn’t about our knowledge, it’s about our hope. Not that God can’t use our knowledge as we share, but the knowledge isn’t the central piece of our testimony.
Jesus is.
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”
Telling our story is an act of overflowing joy. As we encounter Jesus, we are filled with hope and the promise of new life. Eastertide is a wonderful season to be reminded of this. And as we are reminded, we are also invited: go, tell your story.
He led me out of the desert
Brought me into His streams
River of living water
Turned my bitter into sweet
And all my burdens are lifted
You took the shackles off my feet
There's no sound louder than a captive set free
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) Think back on your life with God so far. What moments stand out for you as most indicative of his faithfulness and mercy? How have those moments shaped your story?
2) Whose stories have encouraged your walk with God? Whose testimonies of salvation, deliverance, comfort, and freedom have spoken deeply to your soul?
3) Spend some time reflecting on this quote. How does it speak to you? Challenge you? Provoke you? Inspire you?
“People say all the time 'I don't have a good testimony' because they think their story has to involve some dramatic story of change from 'bad' to 'good'. But Jesus didn't come to save people this way. Sin doesn't make us bad it makes us dead. Jesus came to save by bringing the dead to life. And that's an amazing testimony.”—Louis Giglio
4) Today’s song contains these lyrics:
So let the redeemed of the Lord say so
Sing of His promises ever more
Pour out your thankfulness, let it overflow
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so
How do you understand the link between gratitude (“pour our your thankfulness”) and sharing your faith story (“let the redeemed of the Lord say so”)?
5) Read and reflect on this passage of Scripture. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.”—Psalm 66:16 (ESV)