Beloved, Wouldn’t It Be Beautiful?

What if

things are not loved because they are beautiful,

but

are beautiful because they are loved?

---

What if

the apostle John refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,”

not because John had a closer friendship with Jesus than the other disciples,

but because

John knew clearly that this reality,

“I am loved by Jesus,”

was the most important truth about himself?

What if John chooses to identify himself in this way, 

because he knew

“Loved” was the most true name he could be called by?

---

What if I,

if you,

could accept and embrace this incredible love?

The story of Jesus goes something like this:

A woman named Mary who loved God enough

to be embarrassed, misunderstood, and physically uncomfortable

bore Him and raised Him.

A man named Joseph loved and honoured God and Mary enough

to walk beside her and share her social sanction and discomfort.

Then, there’s the part

where God so loved the low-class shepherds

that he sent his most elite servants–the sinless angels–

to call them to worship and wonder.

And don’t forget the love that beamed from a star

in another nation

shining for months as the wisemen followed that light

to the Source of all light,

a child toddling on dimpled feet.

---

All was not calm and bright as selfish Herod slew the sons of Israel.

But in foreign Egypt, God prepared a room for His Son

He prepared a place in Nazareth

and later

on the roads of Galilee, Samaria and Jerusalem

finally on a Roman cross,

in a Jewish ruler’s tomb

in a place beyond this world that is not heaven.

---

Then, oh, glorious day!

God defied nature

Conquered death

Parted atoms, so Jesus could walk out of the tomb

Into the garden,

Into an upper room,

Onto a road to Emmaus

Above the clouds.

---

God so loved the world–

What a beautiful world,

Full of souls

And each one, He calls,

“Beloved.”

---

What if I,

if you,

could accept and embrace this incredible love and

allow it to fill us,

like water in parched earth soaks in–

the earth swells,

the seeds burst,

and life comes forth blooming and alive?

Wouldn’t that be beautiful?