The Journey - Beloved Charter
Answering the Question- Who Am I?
Why do we struggle to know ourselves? It seems a life-long journey for me. The world around us tries to tell us who we are. Or rather… the world tells us who we should be and could be if we just bought this, did that, or tried this new thing!
This is what God says… you are His Beloved Child.
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 3:1
For many of us, it is hard to grasp our belovedness. We have had poor or inconsistent attachment to childhood caregivers, the world has been critical of us, or our own voice tells us we are not enough. You may find that you believe the truth of your belovedness in your head, but you don’t quite believe it in your heart. Yet, God says… you ARE His Beloved Child.
We have been journeying through questions of identity. We explored Who Is God? a few weeks ago. Last time, we took a look at Who Am I?
Today, we are going to engage in a practice that helps us take an intellectual understanding of our identity into our hearts.
Experiencing the Truth
We may have heard and read that we are God’s children. Our mind may agree, but it has not penetrated our heart. Our need for achievement and approval can reveal the gap between our head and our heart. We default to trying to earn our value by working for position, possessions, or the good regard of others. God says we don’t need to do anything – we simply are beloved. When we lean into this truth, we can stop trying so hard.
To live from the freedom of knowing we are loved, the truth of our belovedness needs to move from an intellectual understanding to an experience of being God’s beloved. We may need to overcome years of resistance and doubt to receive this truth. A great way to do this is to regularly meditate on what God says about us in the Bible. And to ask the Holy Spirit to help us embrace the truth.
The Beloved Charter
The Bible is full of verses that speak to our belovedness. When joined together, they create a personal “Beloved Charter (1).” A Beloved Charter is a short summary made up of truths you want to remember or, perhaps, things you want to know as true, but you find hard to believe. It helps us see ourselves through God’s loving eyes. As we learn to receive His love for us we learn to love ourselves, God, and others.
I encourage you to take time to write your own Beloved Charter. Find verses that speak to you about God’s love for you. Your Charter is meant to be 4-6 sentences long. You don’t need to include everything. Include what is most meaningful to you now. Over time you may modify or write a new Charter.
I’ve provided some wonderful verses that express God’s thoughts about you at the end of this post. Pay attention to those that touch you deeply and write your own Beloved Charter. Feel free to include other verses that come to mind.
Write out these verses in a way that makes sense to you. Make it personal by beginning your charter with your name and changing words so it is addressed to you. This is not simply a list of verses, but more like God speaking personally to you. Here are a couple of examples of Beloved Charters…
Two Examples
Trevor Hudson’s Beloved Charter –
Trevor, you are my beloved child in whom I delight. You did not choose Me but I chose you. You are my friend. I formed your inward parts and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, made a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honor. You have been created in Christ Jesus for good works which I have already prepared to be your way of life. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you. I know all your longings; your sighing is not hidden from Me. Nothing will ever be able to separate you from my love in Christ Jesus, your Lord. Abide in my love. (Seeking God, p. 67)
Henri Nouwen’s Beloved Charter-
(Henri), I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths on the earth and knit you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. … Nothing will ever separate you from my love. (Life of the Beloved, p. 36-37)
Meditating with Your Beloved Charter
After you have written your Beloved Charter, set aside 10 minutes every day for the near future to talk with God and pray through your Charter. You may want to print it out and put it where you can see it during the day. You may want to memorize it.
Imagine God speaking these words to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive them. Be patient with yourself. It can take time to take His love in.
As you become more grounded in your own belovedness, extend these thoughts to others. Don’t rush this. God wants you to deeply know His love for you. Out of this deep well, you will find it more natural to love others.
Your Beloved Charter is something to return to frequently. The world (and often ourselves!) will tell us we are not enough. We need this reminder from God’s Word who we really are… God’s Beloved Child.
Creating and meditating on God’s thoughts about you is a powerful practice. Trevor Hudson says it elegantly…
Allowing words and images… in… (one’s) Beloved Charter to percolate within our hearts indicates our willingness to let God be God in our lives, changes the way we see ourselves, and helps us hear God telling us who we are. (Seeking God, p. 67)
Tips for Writing Your Beloved Charter
Find Bible verses that speak to you about how God sees you with love. You can use the verses here or find others in your Bible.
Print out the verses below and circle any words or phrases that jump out at you. God may be speaking personally to you through these words.
Begin your Charter with your name, so you can hear God address you personally.
The Invitation
Knowing our belovedness in both our head and heart changes the way we see and interact with everything… the things we have, the way we spend our time, and more importantly, how we see and relate to ourselves, others, and God. I encourage you to write your own Beloved Charter to help you receive the truth…
You are God’s Beloved.
Next Time…
In April, we will explore Hearing God’s Voice. How do we recognize the unique quality of Him speaking to us? How does hearing God help us discern the choices we need to make? How can we learn to trust Him more?
Verses (from ESV)
Psalm 139:13-16
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
In your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Ephesians 2:4-9
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Matthew 6:25-29
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Romans 5:8
…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Romans 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
Isaiah 41:1
…fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Palm 8:3-5
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Song of Solomon 2:4
He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
Isaiah 49:15-16
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Notes
(1) This practice has been adapted from Trevor Hudson’s Seeking God, pages 64-71.
References
Hudson, Trevor. 2022. Seeking God: Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard. Colorado Springs: NavPress.
Nouwen, Henri J.M. 1992. Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company
Additional Resources
Henri Nouwen’s struggle to believe he was beloved
If you don’t know me already… my name is Anne Greski. I serve as Women’s Ministry Director at Shallowford Church. I am a second-year student at the Renovare Institute, where I am learning how to enjoy life with God and share the deeper journey of Spiritual Formation in Christlikeness with others. My great desire is to experience friendship with God, and learn to love as God loves. You can reach me at anne@shallowford.church