Knowing the Father, Knowing My Purpose

January 14, 2025

And He said to them, “Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” Luke 2:49 NKJV

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 NKJV

Henri Nouwen, a Dutch theologian and Catholic priest, contributed immeasurably to the mission of the Kingdom of God by the way he followed Jesus. A gifted writer, he not only taught and led by the example of his life, but by his vulnerable sharing in those many books. He authored 42 books and then many more articles before his death in 1996 at age 64. My life has been immeasurably helped by his God-given wisdom and experience.

One of his most profoundly helpful books is Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. The heart of Nouwen’s teaching in this book is his conviction that, like Jesus, the most important thing about us is that we know God the Father. It is through Him we discover who we are and our purpose. Regardless of our background and our brokenness, we are beloved by God, and His favor rests on us. We are called and privileged to share that gift of belovedness with others with our lives, but our ability to share that gift is only as great as our ability to claim it for ourselves.

Did you get that? It is worthless to try to pass on the love of God until you know in the depth of your spirit that God is your Father, and you are His beloved child. Why is it always easier to believe someone else is beloved by God than to believe I am? Nouwen believes “self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life, because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved.” He teaches us to know our Father and learn His voice. Once we hear it, we will keep trying to hear it ever more clearly and follow Him more closely. “Like discovering a well in the desert, once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper.”

Nouwen shared that the most important spiritual journey of our lives involves knowing God as Father, claiming the truth of our belovedness, and living into that truth by becoming the beloved … “letting the truth of our belovedness become enfleshed in everything we think, say or do.” To do this, we must explore ways the Holy Spirit moves in our lives. He believes we become the Beloved of God when we claim that we are beloved and chosen, know that we are blessed, acknowledge that we are broken, and then submit our lives to giving to a needy world. That is our purpose and mission.

• Father, I am Your beloved child. I will be about Your business.