Beloved

I love these thoughts from Philip Yancey in his book,
"What's so Amazing about Grace?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...I know that my self-image at the end of the day depends largely on what kind of messages I have received from other people. Am I liked? Am I loved? I await the answers from my friends, my neighbors, my family--like a starving man, I await the answers.

...all too occasionally, I sense the truth of grace. There are times when I study the parables and grasp that they are about ME. I am the sheep the shepherd has left the flock to find, the prodigal for whom the father scans the horizon, the servant whose debt has been forgiven. I am the beloved of God.

....at a seminar, Brennan Manning referred to Jesus' closest friend on earth, the disciple name John, identified in the Gospels as "the one Jesus loved." Manning said, "If John were to be asked, "What is your primary identify in life?" he would not reply, 'I am a disciple, an evangelist, an author of one of the four Gospels,' but rather, 'I am the one Jesus loves.'"

Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?

Brennan Manning tells the story of an Irish priest who, on a walking tour of a rural parish, sees an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying. Impressed, the priest says to the man, "You must be very close to God." The peasant looks up from his prayers, thinks a moment, and then smiles, 'Yes, he's very fond of me.'"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All too often, I allow how others look at me to determine who I think I am. If they smile at me and greet me, I think I must be Okay. If they ignore me or their voice is cold, then I think I must have done something wrong. I give people far more power than they would ever care to have. Most people have alot on their minds.

If I ignore someone because I am preoccupied, I would want that person to understand that I have something on my mind and that I didn't try to ignore them.

All too often, I negatively judge someone's actions toward me. And really, how a person looks at me or treats me tells more about them and what struggles they are going through then it does about me. Instead of thinking that they don't like me and instead of wracking my brain to think 'what have I done', why not give them the same benefit of the doubt I desire, and lift them and their burdens up to God in prayer?
Why don't I look at us both with the eyes of grace and think, "We are the ones Jesus loves?"