Jesus’ faith was centered not simply on what he believed about God.
It was centered on what God believed about him:
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matt. 3:16-4:1 ESV)
Before Jesus battled the Devil and began his ministry, he was baptized. In this act his identity was affirmed in these words:
“This is my beloved Son.”
The timing of this is no coincidence. The Father knew how critical it would be for Jesus to have his identity secure as he engaged the devil and public ministry. The devil would strive to contradict Jesus’ identity. The public would strive to confuse Jesus’ identity. Only with his identity clear could Jesus do and be what he was sent to do and be. And what God believed about Jesus was this:
“You are my beloved.”
Bernard of Clairvaux believed this was the epitome of spiritual maturity. Our journey from loving self for self’s sake, to loving God for self’s sake, to loving God for God’s sake must take one step further. We must learn to love self for God’s sake. Bernard understood that we only thrive spiritually when we come to see ourselves as God sees us. Each of needs a daily reminder of what Jesus found in the baptismal waters: we too are God’s beloved.
Henri Nouwen explains:
Who am I? I am the beloved. That’s the voice Jesus heard when he came out of the Jordan River…Jesus listened to that voice all the time, and he was able to walk right through life…He clung to that voice. There are many other voices speaking–loudly: “Prove that you are the beloved.” “Prove you’re worth something.” “Prove you have any contribution to make.”…These voices are so strong in this world. These were the voices Jesus heard right after he heard “You are my beloved.”…Jesus said, “No, I don’t have to prove anything. I am already the beloved.”…If you keep that in mind, you can deal with an enormous amount of success as well as an enormous amount of failure without losing your identity, because your identity is that you are the beloved. Long before your father and mother, your brothers and sisters, your teachers, your church, or any people touched you in a loving as well as in a wounding way–long before you were rejected by some person or praised by somebody else–that voice has been there always.
We are not thriving spiritually until we constantly hear this voice, until we fully embrace this identity. We can never truly hope to welcome all-in unless we have irrevocably and enthusiastically accepted that we too are all-in, that God sees us with delight and desire and laughter and love because we are, and always have been, and always will be simply this: his beloved.
Ann Voskamp writes of flying on an airplane. She was seated next to a Jewish rabbi. They became involved in a conversation about spirituality. At one point, he interrupted Ann and said this:
Why do you people always say it’s about having a strong belief in God? Who sits with the knowing that God’s belief in you is even stronger than yours in Him? You may believe in God, but never forget–it’s God who believes in you. Every morning that sun rises and you get to rise? That’s God saying He believes in you…
It’s one thing to have a faith that’s all about believing in God. It’s quite another to have a faith that’s all about God’s belief in you.
David Benner writes this:
“Christian spirituality involves a transformation of the self that occurs only when God and self are both deeply known. Both, therefore, have an important place in Christian spirituality. There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self, and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God. John Calvin wrote, “Nearly the whole of sacred doctrine consists in these two parts: knowledge of God and of ourselves.”
The more we know ourselves as God knows us, as his beloved, the more we know God. Love of God for God’s sake requires loving ourselves for God’s sake.
Curt Thompson is a psychiatrist who specializes in the fields of neurology and spirituality. He writes that when parents raise children with this kind of spirituality, an image of God “who is interested and delighted in them,” it becomes “hard-wired” into their brains. This attachment to a God who joyfully loves them makes an impact at the neurological level. As these children move through life they encounter all kinds of relationships and situations that break their hearts: a fight with their parents, the loss of a girlfriend or boyfriend, demanding children of their own, cancer, etc. But wired into their neural circuitry is this imprint, this image of a God who is delighting in them and believing in them. And that’s what allows them to get through those hard times. That’s what brings healing from all those hurts.
What we believe about God is certainly important. But the centerpiece, the foundation of our faith is what God believes about us. And what he believes about us is this: we are his beloved. His betrothed. The one that makes his heart race.
According to an old Jewish story, once upon a time there was a four-year-old boy named Mortakai who refused to attend school and study Hebrew. Whenever his parents tried to immerse his mind in the Torah, he would sneak away and play on the swing set. Every form of persuasion failed. Mortakai remained stubborn and defiant. The exasperated parents even brought him to a famous psychiatrist, but that also proved futile. Nothing changed the young boy’s heart, which seemed to grow more distant, lonely, and hardened every week.
Finally, in desperation, Mortakai’s parents brought him to the local rabbi, a warm and wise spiritual guide. As the parents explained their plight, pouring out their frustration and despair, the rabbi listened intently. Without saying a word, he gently picked up Mortakai, took him in his arms and held him close to his chest. The rabbi held Mortakai close enough and tight enough so the young boy could feel the safe, rhythmic beating of the rabbi’s heart. Then, without a word, he gently handed the child back to his parents. From that point on, Mortakai listened to his parents, studied the Torah and, when it was appropriate, slipped away to play on the swing set.
This is how we are to see God, and to see ourselves. We are his beloved, held tightly to his chest. And that changes everything.
This is especially important for those who, because of their skin color, their sexual preference, their socioeconomic status, or for a host of other things have been rejected and ridiculed, especially by religion. Those who’ve been ostracized or oppressed suffer what from Daniel Migliore calls the sin of self-hatred. Pride is the sin of those with power and privilege. But it’s opposite, self-hatred, is the sin of those who are cast aside to the margins. And the antidote to this sin is these words:
“You are my beloved.”
David Benner provides this summary:
“Christian’s affirm a foundation of identity that is absolutely unique in the marketplace of spiritualities. Whether we realize it or not, our being is grounded in God’s love. The generative love of God was our origin. The embracing love of God sustains our existence. The inextinguishable love of God is the only hope for our fulfillment. Love is our identity and our calling, for we are children of Love. Created from love, of love and for love, our existence makes no sense apart from Divine love.”
