Loved by the God of Love

Love is the burning ember at the center of our life in Christ.

To quote Damon Thompson, the flame of love must be tended, even to the point of radically ignoring other fires that people want us to tend to.

The Love of God and our beloved identity in God are the center of true life. Here is the focus: We are loved by the God of love, and as we become woven into that love, perfect love casts out all fear.

Be enveloped in love, be energized by the beams of radiant love. Be IN LOVE.

The phrase "beloved identity" helps us home in on the thought that what matters most in life is knowing we are loved by the God of love. While many have explored "beloved identity" down through church history, the phrase itself crystalizes in Brennan Manning's 1994 book, Abba’s Child. Here are some crucial quotes:

My identity must continue to be found in the love of my Creator Himself. I am loved. Deeply loved. And when I let that love define who I am, I am suddenly free to be myself (p. 12).

The true self claims identity in its belovedness (p. 54).

Our identity rests in God’s relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ (p. 56).

Sadly, many of us continue to cultivate such an artificial identity that the liberating truth of our belovedness fails to break through. So we become grim, fearful, and legalistic. We hide our pettiness and wallow in guilt (p. 62).

Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion (p. 63).

For us in 2026, these quotes are prophetic. They are challenging. They speak directly into our situation.

We are now establishing the golden foundation of love in the church of God. The new testament puts Love at the very center of its mission and vision, and it is our duty to recover that vision. Love must be trumpeted, and set forth before God’s people as the absolute goal, the deliberate and implicit pulsing refrain, the force that runs through and energizes all.