He Calls Us His Beloved

For about two months every morning I took a thin sharpie and wrote the word “beloved” on the inside of my left wrist. I had been wanting a tattoo for so long and had been thinking about several words. After going through a difficult season I saw beauty that came out of this season. I had never in my life felt so close to God and so loved by Him. I felt His arms around me, His comfort, and His peace. I knew what word I wanted tattooed forever. “Beloved.” I wanted to be able to look down and see the daily reminder that my identity as a daughter of the King is above all else. 

So I wrote the word over and over until I found the calligraphy I liked. And then I would write it on my wrist every day to see what it would look like. One spring morning in April my friend and I drove to the tattoo parlor to get our tattoos. I felt a rush of excitement run through me as I sat in the waiting room. 

It’s been a few years since I’ve had the word “beloved” permanently on my wrist. It’s been the start to many good conversations about how we are loved by God. It’s been a constant daily reminder when I have days where the lies are loud and the truth seems so far away. 

I chose the word beloved because I realized that for most of my life, although I fully believed that God loved me, I thought the approval and love from others was far greater and more important. I realized that my identity had been rooted in all the wrong things and it was a lot of pressure to live up to every day. 

I learned that it doesn’t matter what I accomplish or achieve, what I have, what others say about me, what my relationship status is, how much money I have, what size I am, etc. I am God’s beloved daughter and that is the most important quality I can ever have. I did a lot of reading the truth to see what God says about me…

God says I am His child. (1 John 3:1)

I am loved by God (John 15:9)

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:18-19)

He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:1)

We are sinners, yet Christ dies for us (Romans 5:6-8)

He has redeemed us. He calls us by name. We are His (Isaiah 43:1)

We are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)

We are seen by Him (Genesis 16:13)

The Lord will fight for me (Exodus 14:14)

We are chosen by God, beloved (Colossians 3:12)

God calls us his “beloved,” His love for us is great. No one can love us like God. We are His children, undeserving of His love yet chosen to receive it.