"And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” – Luke 3:22
Jesus’ identity is rooted in His relationship with His Heavenly Father. He is the Father’s beloved, and so are you. Your identity then is something that comes from God, not from yourself. Fundamentally, who you are is dependent upon Who God Is. And, as we know from the first letter of Saint John, “God is love,” and God loves you. (4:8). Yet the notion that “God loves you” has become so cliché that we no longer appreciate the truth and depth of that statement.
It means that you are the object of His desire. Think of a young couple holding hands. Think of a child clinging to his favorite teddy bear. Think of a mother cradling her newborn baby. The Lord longs “to have and to hold” you in the same way. He wants to be in your presence and share His divine life with you. The Lover yearns to embrace his Beloved.
The Lover also wants only that which is truly good for the Beloved. Sometimes the good is sweet – think of the flowers that a husband presents to his wife. Sometimes the good is sour – think of the medicine that a doctor gives to a sick child.
When God gives us the sour medicine that we need but do not want, we may not feel very loved at all. Those are the times when God seems far away, and we question Him, as Jesus did, crying out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
We must remain vigilant in times of suffering like these, because that is when the Evil One likes to whisper lies of despair into our ears. He seeks to crush our confidence in God and convince us that perhaps the Lord does not love us. The Devil wants us to lose hope in God’s love and lose sight of our identity as God’s beloved.
When these doubts enter your mind, consider this: God gave away the One He called Beloved, so that you could be saved. Yes, you and I must indeed be loved, if God was willing to trade His Beloved for us. So, don’t lose hope and never let the world’s measure of “success” bring you down. You are not defined by your career, your car, or your clothes. You are God’s beloved, and you have nothing to fear.
Lord Jesus, help us find ourselves in the reflection of Your merciful Heart. Give us the grace to live as your beloved and become living signs of your love for the world. Amen.
