To be loved is at the core of every person’s identity, whether they acknowledge it or not. It’s how God created us– to love and be loved; to be a reflection of Him.
So I want to look at something Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians. He said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).
There’s so much richness in these verses. First, notice the present tense. Not one word is past tense or even future tense — God “…has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…” And we’re also told why He has blessed us: “…that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” This is simply a picture of the righteousness we received at salvation.
We are very loved and accepted.
But this last phrase is what I really wanted to highlight: “by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” The Greek definition of beloved means to esteem, or to love, but with definite direction of another’s will and the result of finding one’s joy in something or someone. It is a derivative of the Greek word agape, which is the word used frequently in scripture to describe God’s love for man.
We’ve heard this. We’ve read it in scripture. But it’s TRUE. We are very loved by God. And more than that, we are accepted! I have to tell you this word accepted comes from the Greek word for grace. This blesses me so much because I have disqualified myself so many times in my mind. As soon as you hear someone say God loves and accepts you, the enemy jumps right into our thoughts with “yeah, but remember when you did [fill-in-the-blank].” And suddenly, the next thought is, “There’s no way God really accepts me.”
The devil is such a liar.
I’ve fallen for every lie the devil could ever throw at a person. But when I search the scriptures, the Holy Spirit leads me back to truth every time. And the truth is, exactly what Paul said: “He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Notice “He made us” — we didn’t make ourselves accepted or beloved. God did this through Jesus on our behalf. And when we put our faith in Christ, boom! We become what He made.
To be accepted is grace.
In other words, we have to receive it by grace and live this truth by grace.
The bottom line is simple: We are loved and we need to accept this truth. Can I say it this way: We need to allow ourselves to BE LOVED by God.
We are the BE LOVED.
I didn’t believe this (for myself) for a long time because I focused too much on my sin, my failures, my shortcomings instead of focusing on God’s love, God’s grace, God’s ability to forgive me, cleanse me, and help me stand. But when I made the decision to believe His Word over my feelings, my whole world shifted. Not only was I able to live in these truths but the same truths helped me live graciously and righteously.
Like Paul, I can say I’ve not arrived yet (Philippians 3:12-14). But that’s okay. All I need to do is daily believe I’m accepted and loved. And so are you.
I pray you’ll accept my challenge today. Let God love you. Forgive yourself. Receive His love and forgiveness. Abide in Him. Spend time with Him in prayer and His Word. My prayer is that the eyes of your understanding will be flooded with light as you breathe in the truth that you are loved.
