beloved

Update: For some reason, the video I embedded here doesn't have the pop-up text which makes it much more enjoyable to watch... So I recommend watching it on YouTube here.

Call me a sucker, but this video made me cry. It is 8 minutes long, so I will understand if you don't watch it (though I highly recommend taking the time to do so). The video is from a wedding reception where the 'Man of Honor' gives a musical-theater-style tribute to the bride, incorporating dozens of friends and guests in the song and dance. The whole thing ends in a chorus of "We love you"s sung and shouted to the bride, who (quite naturally) has completely come apart by this point.

I know that my strong reaction to this video was primarily because of the book I read this week, Life of the Beloved, by Henri Nouwen. In it, Nouwen identifies the word "beloved" as the most powerfully true word that can be said of us. It is what defines and identifies us in the deepest sense: we are God's beloved.

It's one thing to assent to that truth... but do we experience it? Do we listen to God's voice speaking those words to us in a personal way? Do we use our imaginations to picture what it means, what it looks like to be the beloved of God?

If you want to know what "beloved" looks like, watch the video. This girl is nothing if not beloved. Her closest friends and family are all gathered around her, lavishing their love on her in extravagant and shameless ways. And this is how we are loved by God. Can anyone out-do God in His love for us?

Watch the video, and know that you are beloved.