“Just As You Are” (1 Corinthians 7:17-24)

You Are the Beloved

What does the Bible say about who you are? Who are you according to God’s word? If we summarize who the Bible says you are in one word, it would be “beloved.” You and I are God’s beloved. We know this is true from the story of the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved. I am well pleased with you!” (Matt. 3:16–17; Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:21–22). After this, Jesus was immediately driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit. There he was tempted by Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus, three times he began by saying, “If you are the Son of God.” Here the tempter was saying, “If you are the Son of God, prove it. Do something relevant, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will be loved and accepted.” But we must remember even before Jesus started his ministry, God already said to him, “You are the Beloved just as you are.”

We live in a world filled with voices that shout: “You are no good, you are not enough, you are ugly, you are worthless, you are nobody.” We hear loud voices saying, “Prove that you are worth something; do something special, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will earn the love you so desire.” But God says to us three times through today’s scripture, “You are the beloved just as you are.”

“However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you” (v. 17)

“Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called” (v. 20)

“In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God” (v. 24)

You don’t have to prove that you are worth something. You don’t have to do something or change something to earn God’s favor. You are the beloved just as you are. But oftentimes, we don’t feel like we are the beloved. To help us to remember our identity in Christ everyday, Jesus used daily bread as a remembrance. On the night when Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. These four words – “take,” “bless,” “break,” and “give” – summarize the life of Jesus and also our life as a Christian, because we are called to become bread for the world. As a Christian, we are taken, blessed, broken, and given. These four words encourage us to live out our identity – the beloved of God.

Taken

First, we are taken. Another word for “taken” would be “chosen.” We are chosen, we are called, we are invited. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Some of us in this room may feel like we are nothing special. No reason to be chosen. But God’s ways are different from ours. When God chose Israel to be his people, he said to them through Moses, “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you…” (Deut 7:7-8a NKJV). God just loves you, so you are chosen. Not in spite of our weakness, but because of it, we are chosen. Every time you don’t feel like you are chosen, remember how God chose Israel. Remember how Jesus chose his disciples.

Blessed

As the beloved children of God, we are chosen, and we are blessed. God is determined to bless his people. Balak summons Balaam to curse Israel. But God turns every curse into a blessing three times when Balaam opened his mouth to prophesy. Then Balaam realizes that God is determined to bless Israel (Numbers 22-24). God is determined to bless you and me.

Henri Nouwen once shared how he was deeply moved by witnessing a bar mitzvah (coming-of-age) – most of all by the parents’ blessing. The father said to the son something like this: “Son, whatever will happen to you in your life, whether you will have success or not, become important or not, will be healthy or not, always remember how much your mother and I love you” (Life of the Beloved, 67-68). That’s how our heavenly father blesses us. When we come to a quiet place to pray, we can listen to the blessing. For me personally, God’s blessings have delivered me out of many pits of despair. When I was so discouraged in my early years of ministry, the voice said, “Don’t be afraid. Keep doing it. I have many people in this city.” When I was about to give up preaching, the voice said, “Keep on speaking. You are little, but you are a mighty warrior.” When I hit the bottom and didn’t know what to do next, the voice said, “You are called. Abide.” God is determined to bless you if you are willing to listen. We are chosen, and we are blessed.

Broken

Thirdly, we are broken. I am a broken person, and you are a broken person. What we learn from the Bible is that the leaders and prophets of Israel, who were clearly chosen and blessed, all lived very broken lives. And we, the beloved children of God, cannot escape our brokenness either. What matters is how we respond to our brokenness. We can either face it or deny it. We can either take a step toward it or take a step away from it. When we choose to face it, confess it, embrace it, healing begins.

A friend of mine used to work for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). I was impressed by how they introduced themselves. In the meeting there are diverse people who are in the different stages of addiction. Some are serious, and others are not. But every member must introduce themselves in the same way: “Hello, everyone. My name is Victor, and I am an alcoholic.” There is no exception. Even though I quit drinking for a decade, still I have to introduce myself. “My name is Victor, and I am an alcoholic.” The first step to healing is to confess, “I am broken.” Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mark 2:17, NRSV). There is hope for those who say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Given

We are chosen, blessed, and broken so as to be given. As the beloved children of God, we are chosen, blessed, and broken not simply for our own sakes, but so that we may be given to others. When God chose and blessed Abraham, he said to him, “I will bless you, and you will be a blessing to others. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:2-3).

Some of us might feel that there is not much to offer to others. But no matter which stage of life we are at, we have something to give. The other day I had a chance to visit Ed and Priscilla Clark. They both fell at different times. Ed is now at Stillwater Rehab, and Priscilla at Eastern Maine. I heard from their daughter that the day when Priscilla had surgery, somehow Ed got the news. He called every hospital and finally got hold of Priscilla. Ed said to Priscilla, “I am so concerned about you. I miss you. And I love you.” Priscilla replied back, “I love you too. I think we are set.” (Ed broke his left hip, and Priscilla her right one) As I was listening to the story and visiting each of them, they taught me what’s most important in life. I felt inspired, blessed, honored to be part of their life journey. Friends, we are given to each other. And each of us has something to give.

Jesus and I

The story of the five loaves and two fish echoes the same truth. When Jesus saw a great crowd, he was moved with compassion. And he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples asked him to send them away. But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They found one boy who was willing to share what he had, five loaves and two fish. By faith the boy brought what he had to Jesus. He had no idea what Jesus would do with it. But he had simple faith that Jesus would do something with it. Once one of my colleagues encouraged me to put the boy’s shoes on and asked me this question. She said, “Have you ever thought how the boy would tell the story to his parents later?” Do you think he would simply say, “Mom, Dad, today Jesus fed the 5,000?” Probably not! He would say with excitement, “Mom and dad, today Jesus and I together did feed thousands of people!”

We don’t need to be young, healthy, strong, rich to be happy. Just as we are, just as we are called, we are the beloved of God. What we need is simple faith – the faith enough to be open to his invitation. God is already and always at work in our lives, and he invites us to join him in his work. May we say “yes” to his invitation today. As the beloved children of God, may we be taken, blessed, broken, and given to others. And our heavenly Father will get the glory. Amen.