“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.” – G.K. Chesterton

The greatest love affair in my life has been with God. When I was a small child, God made God’s love and presence known to me. I don’t know how I knew, but something deep within me echoed this was true. It made all the difference in my life, growing up with God who loved me and walked beside me. God has been the lover of my soul, loving me for who I am. There are times that is still so hard to fathom, how God can be the lover of our souls? It is a message that runs contrary to what we experience in the world. Who really loves and accepts us unconditionally?  Who do we love in that way, realistically, try though we might?

We so often hear or put upon ourselves that we have to get it right. We have to do more or be more somehow in order to be acceptable or accepted by God.  I am grateful that just isn’t true.  Both scripture and experience communicate that God loves and accepts us for who we are unconditionally.  God cherishes each of us, and  desires to walk beside us for the joy of being with us. It is hard to wrap one’s mind around, but it is wrapped around my heart. We are God’s beloved.

Recently, I had beloved, belong, and believe engraved on a necklace as a tangible reminder, because there are so many things that push in on us that make it hard to believe we could be God’s beloved.  We make mistakes. We doubt. We lose our way. We let people down. We are often self-centered and focused. Yet in spite of all of that, God loves us for who we are. God calls us God’s beloved. What do you need to wrap that around your heart? What would be a tangible reminder for you today?