Reading: Becoming the Beloved I. Taken
Today we officially begin Advent! After a wonderful week of discussing the truth that we are the Beloved, Henri now calls us to become the Beloved! This is definitely a journey rather than a flick of a switch, and the journey is challenging. Although God has granted us the irrevocable status of being His Beloved, he asks us to apply the disciplines to “become the Beloved in the common places of [our] daily existence” (p 45).
This week we specifically explore what it means to accept that we are chosen (taken). We recognize that every person God put on this earth, He put here for a reason, for a unique purpose, however “great” or “small.”
1) Think of some of the people of the Bible, or spiritual heroes of the past, who were chosen by God for a specific purpose:
a) Did they generally feel worthy and prepared for their calling?
b) What was the result of their obedience?
2) Does a part of you protest the idea of being chosen?
a) What things come along with being chosen, which you’d rather avoid?
b) If you were to admit that you are chosen by God for a purpose, what might that stir in you? Require of you?
c) Can you imagine the beauty, excitement, peace, joy etc. that might also come along with accepting that you are chosen?
If you are ready to discover, embrace and live your purpose, a good question is “how?”
3) Henri reminds us that if we listen to the voices of this world, we will most certainly get distracted from our purpose, and get “caught in the net of a suffocating world that accepts or rejects us according to its own agenda of effectiveness and control” (P57-58).
a) If you were totally free from the external voices telling you what you should do, what would make you significant, what would earn you respect or love … if you were free to choose from your heart, what would you do or be or give or contribute to yourself and the world?
4) Finally, Henri gives us three very practical guidelines to help us live as a chosen son or daughter of God:
a) How might you establish a way that you can easily remind yourself of your Belovedness on a daily basis, and when needed?
b) Do you have a community, a friend, a mentor, or a guide that reminds you that you are chosen, and encourages you to live your purpose? If yes, how did you find them, and how have they been significant to you? (To encourage others who may be looking).
c) Finally, how can you further integrate gratitude into all of your life’s circumstances?
INVITATION: Choose one new way to express gratitude to God, to others or to yourself this week. Tell us how it goes!
Looking forward to another great week together!