You are a beloved child of God. Each and every human life is precious in God’s eyes. It doesn’t matter what family you were born into; your social status; the amount in your bank account; the positions of power or weakness you hold; your race, creed, color, ethnicity, nationality, class…you name it. None of that is important in God’s eyes. You have dignity and purpose, because you are made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). You deserve respect and kindness, simply because of the merits of being His child. What is important to Him is that you are the best-version-of-yourself, that you love Him, and you love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31).
Do you believe that you are beloved to God? The world treats us with such coldness and disregard sometimes that it can be hard to accept this idea. Me, beloved? In his book, Life of the Beloved, Fr. Henri Nouwen explores how he came to understand his belovedness: “The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting belief.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus painted a picture of our importance: “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). You are important. You are priceless in your Father’s eyes. He knows every hair on your head. God—the creator of the universe—cherishes you. You are beloved.
“To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice….When we claim and constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness. Instead of making us feel that we are better, more precious or valuable than others, our awareness of being chosen opens our eyes to the chosenness of others.” – Fr. Henri Nouwen
Once you can embrace your own belovedness, you begin to see the unique beauty of each and every person. You begin to see each person’s belovedness in God’s eyes. You can begin to love him or her as your spiritual brother or sister. You intrinsically understand each person’s value as “worth more than many sparrows.” You see that he or she is a child of God. Like you, called Beloved from all eternity.
