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| Lake Michigan sunset |
Henri Nouwen believed the key moment of Jesus' life was the affirmation from the Father at the moment of Jesus' baptism: "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased."
This was the core of Jesus' identity.
It is yours, as well. You are God's beloved son, or daughter. This comes down to the basic truth that God is love, and God loves you. (These three words, "God loves you," spoken to me by someone when I was twenty-one, ignited a transforming, purging fire in my soul.)
The deep knowing of God's love frees us from a manipulating, false "love" in our relationships. We no longer love out of our own need to be liked and affirmed. We are free to love and give, with no expectation of being loved in return. This is real love. This is the love of God.
Nouwen believed that "friendship becomes a lot more freeing once we recognize the truth that we are deeply loved because then we are released to love others nonpossessively (IVL: 80)." (Will Hernandez, Henri Nouwen and Spiritual Polarities: A Life of Tension, Kindle Locations 823-824)
"Knowing and owning this truth of our belovedness helps us escape the tyranny of self-rejection that plagues many of us," (Ib.)
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My two books are:
