Am I Greatly Loved? (5 Minute Friday: Beloved)

Beloved. A word that does not really resonate well with me. I wonder why? It should, perhaps. Beloved is “a person who is greatly loved” and I ask myself, am I greatly loved? And I know the answer because love does not tip toe in through back doors in the dark nor does it parade itself grandly from the lofty places. But it quietly, faithfully serves in the small places where there are gaps, and holes and places that need filling and mending and loving. Love serves and works hard, day in and day out without calling attention to itself. Am I greatly loved? Love gets up when it’s tired and serves alongside the weary worker bringing encouragement, inspiration, and renewal. I think of Jesus and His example and God’s love, yet I am humbled by the fact that He uses the least of us, the smallest, the least likely and I wonder why we want to scurry up to the place of attention and wonder if we are seen, loved, heard. When all the while He is holding out open arms, scarred and longingly looking our way…Beloved, I see you, love you, hear you, and I have loved you with and everlasting love. He sends husbands, and wives, sisters, and brothers and tells us to go and do likewise. Fulfill our destiny.  I wonder why I should ever wonder why this word does not resonate well with me.

It should, because I am. And you are. We are His beloved. Greatly loved I am. Dear to heart, we are. Am I greatly loved? Yes, indeed, I am.