You Are My Beloved

“And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased.” — Luke 3:22

Never question the love of the Father for you. Just as He professed to Israel His love, He is proclaiming the same allegiance to you today.

In Jeremiah 31:3, God told Israel, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.”

Often, we think that we’re the ones who chose to draw nigh to the Father, but in reality, He’s the One who draws.

Take a magnet, for example. If you hold it in front of a piece of metal, the metal will thrust itself onto the magnet.

Think about it. The magnet never moves.

Well, it’s the same way with God. At the appointed time, God positions Himself in front of us, and because the magnetic force of His love is so strong, we are pulled towards Him.

Jesus told His disciples in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me. I chose you.” In other words, I orchestrated the plan, hand-picked each of you, and accomplished the will of the Father. And what was the will of the Father? Jesus sacrificed His life for humanity.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Can you imagine someone loving you to the extent that they would give their child’s life for you?

God’s love is based on the deliberate choice of the one who loves rather than the worthiness of the one who is loved. Therefore, it’s unconditional and has no strings attached.

From Genesis to Revelation, we see the magnitude of the Father’s love. We see how He pursues us with an everlasting love and seals us with the name My Beloved.

Yes, you are God’s beloved — the apple of His eye, and His desire is for you. (Song of Solomon 7:10)

This week take some time to meditate on the Father’s love towards you. Here are scriptures you can use to help guide your meditation.

Taken from the NIV (New International Version) Bible:

• Isaiah 54:10, “Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
• 1 John 3:1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
• 1 John 4:9-11, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Join me next week for Coffee on The Couch.