Hello, if you would prefer to listen to the concept addressed in this blog post, head over t0 the BeLoved Revealed podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, etc. & give a listen to episode two! If not, enjoy the read!
Defining a word seems scary. It feels like permanently inking a meaning to a word for everyone to look at, learn from, and use in all forms of everyday language. I don't know how the editors of Merriam-Webster do it for every word in the entire English Language, but I am sure they have to have some confidence in doing so.
Ever since I began BeLoved Revealed online, this thought has replayed over and over in my mind: "I really need to define Beloved & the way that I intend for it to be used on this platform." So why haven't I "defined" it? Because of that nasty thing that goes by the name of 'Fear.'
I am a young adult woman who has only taken a handful of theology courses in undergrad and who hasn't lived as long as or studied as hard as adults, so why should I be TRUSTED in defining a concept? Why don't we just lean on the big, theological, intelligent people out there with more life experiences to define it instead???? Can't other people just speak FOR me??
Yeah, I think it's time to shed that mindset for sure..in all things.
Thanks to a few gentle nudges from others and my own common sense in knowing that I need to define Beloved for a platform that I own and that literally has the word "Beloved" in the title, I am here today with shaky confidence to define something that, to me, comes across as a fairly large concept in life.
Thanks to Google, I have a place to start.
beloved /bɪˈlʌvɪd,bɪˈlʌvd/ adjective
dearly loved. "his beloved son" Similar: darling, dear, dearest, precious, adored, loved, treasured, prized, admired, valued, revered, exalted
noun
a much loved person. "he watched his beloved from afar" Similar: sweetheart, loved one, love, true love, darling, lover
Definitions from Oxford Language
Cool, so basically beloved is a much loved person who is dearly loved (lol). An adored loved one. An admirable sweetheart. A word to describe someone who is just really dang appreciated! Sounds simple enough to me. So then how do we go from little "b," beloved, to BIG "B," Beloved?
Thanks to Scripture, I think I have another lead!
Matthew 12:18-21
"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight...."
Mark 1:9-11
"It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Matthew 17:5
"While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
The word, beloved, is not just dropped in folklore, fairytales, and rom coms to explain romantic love stories, it also appears numerously in the Bible (the gospels of Matthew and Mark being two of the many books in which 'beloved' appears).
These passages above proclaim the 'belovedness' of the most admirable and adored "character" of all time: Jesus Christ. The "OG (original) 'beloved'" as I like to say. The Bible is a written example of the human works of God the Son who is chosen and named by God the Father as 'Beloved.' I capitalize the "B" knowing that beloved is still a lowercase adjective and noun as Google presents it to be, but I am also recognizing the importance of Jesus' title of 'Beloved,' and knowing that 'Beloved' is also a name.
Perhaps Jesus was named and chosen by God the Father as His "beloved Son" to allow Jesus to be seen by others with deep reverence, admiration, and adoration. To be an example of perfectly lived out 'belovedness' on earth. To encourage others to claim the identity of "beloved" for themselves because it is not just Jesus whom God the Father named, "Beloved," it is all of us, as well. So, what does it mean for US to be named and chosen as Beloved?
Thanks to personal life experience, I can offer a reflection on this.
Gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, income, intelligence, interests, weight, etc. All of these represent some of society's labels that we place on ourselves and that we place on others. They come in handy when trying to find and connect with others that you relate to in morals, values, interests, struggles etc. I have been able to find community during lonely times and share in fruitful, educational conversations with others thanks to labels. I've been able to take my labels and type them into a search bar on social media or on the "Meetup Groups" website to find pages to follow and relatable groups to engage with online and in person. As seen in these examples, labels can be helpful. However, I also believe that they come with the complexities of being "shoved in a box".
I'm thinking of a cardboard box that I used to play in when I was little. I used to sit in it for hours and decorate the inside. I was comfortable in it. I was creative in it. I had absolutely no idea what was happening around me or outside of the box, but I had my box and I felt like that was enough. Soon another box would come, so I would sit in that one. I would transfer back and forth between the boxes, but would never tape them together and combine them into one. Each box was different. They didn't really "go together" in my mind. I liked being able to choose between the boxes. To do what I pleased in the boxes. To decorate how I wanted to decorate the boxes: one with red markers, the other with pink.
Back in college, the labels that I placed on myself and the labels that the world placed on me started to appear like those cardboard boxes in my life. Some of my labels didn't seem to really "go together" based off of what I had been taught or what society projected onto me. So what did I do? I organized them into separate boxes, just transferring back and forth between them. I lived out of separate boxes -- one box being the labels that society, my religion, and my peers told me went well together, and the other box being the labels that I was unsure of, that didn't "fit well" within the others, the ones that were only to be chosen and used in particular circumstances. I used these boxes separately in totally different aspects of my life. I used one box of characteristics, attributes, etc. in my Catholic faith life, in most friendships, and in my family. I used the other box of characteristics and attributes in very few friendships, in specific clubs/organizations that I kept quiet about, and in my online search bars that I would not allow anyone to see or hear me speak about.
Exhausting, right? Yeah, I finally discovered that.
It took until the peak of my exhaustion, depression, loneliness, shame and fear when I realized I needed to tape together the boxes. I needed to stop exhausting myself, my mental health, my body, and my relationships with running back and forth between boxes. I needed to stop keeping secrets, and start being revealed. I needed to tape those boxes together to form a house with a cut out door and a sign with the word, "Beloved" placed on it. Why? Because I learned that BELOVED is the only "label" that I need to show others. BELOVED is the core of my identity where I find worth in a world that suggests I am less than, where I find peace among the chaos, where I find a home that all of my attributes and characteristics can dwell. BELOVED is the title of my home, the rest of my labels are merely subtitles in my memoir. They're there, they're important, they're to be shared and explored and woven into my story, but they are not what defines my entire identity.
Unlike my doorless childhood boxes, this door on my home of my Belovedness is also a pathway in and out. I am able to welcome my loved ones into it to get to know all of the elements that live inside of it. I am also able to close the door when I need to sit in my home by myself. It's okay to take time to get to know and sit with all of the elements inside before welcoming others into it. In fact, it's probably important and necessary to do so. BUT it is also important and necessary at times to welcome someone in to help you sort through things, as well. Unlike my secluded childhood boxes, this open door can now allow me to be attentive to what is outside of it. I am able to learn from all people and things that surround my home and I am also able to bring my own Belovedness out to educate and to help others.
I know the design of my Belovedness is unlike any other, and I know that there are other Beloved homes out there that are unique in their own way. I know that there are some that are similar to mine, that can connect deeply with mine, and there are some that are different from mine, that can educate me in mine. I also know that there are Beloved beings exhausting themselves, running back and forth between their separate boxes that are waiting to be taped together. Perhaps they are the ones who may need to hear the gentle whisper that says, "You are my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Maybe then they will gain the courage and strength to put all of their boxes together.
After all of this being said, I believe that I would define Beloved as this:
Beloved
/bee - love - Ed/
adjective
dearly loved
noun
a much loved person
title
the name of all beings. the source of all identities. the home to all unique aspects of a human. the name of you, with whom your Whisper is well pleased.
Beloved is the name of you, me, and all whom we encounter. All people, at the root of all things, are Beloved. They are to be treated with respect, with love, with deep care.
We have a choice to choose our Belovedness, to explore and get to know what that means for ourselves, and to share it with the world around us. So I leave you with these questions.
What does your Belovedness look like? What does your Beloved home look like? What are the attributes, characteristics, labels, etc. that fill your home and make you who you are? How can you take this title, this name, and bring it into action?
You are my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.
Written By Our Revealer: Katy Stalter
Instagram: @beloved.revealed
Email: beloved.revealed@gmail.com
Comments