I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

[Excerpted from Christ’s Mission Is Our Mission: An Exploration of Luke 4:16–30 by Peter A. Judd, Herald House, 2012, p. 18]

In our quest to understand Jesus’ ministry and to respond as faithful disciples to what he calls us to do, it is too easy for us to place artificial and unhelpful separations between him and ourselves. By affirming that Jesus was and is God’s Beloved Son, we seem to think we are not beloved children of God, or, at best, we are beloved by God in some lesser way. Because, after all, Jesus was God, and we cannot presume to be equal to him.

It is important that we understand Jesus’ unique role as God’s Son sent to be the means whereby humankind is saved. Yet if we understand Jesus’ status as beloved of God to mean that we are not beloved or only beloved in some qualified, limited way, then we deny God’s most important gift to us. We discount or deny the only adequate foundation for our own sacrificial response on behalf of others. Recognition that each human being is, in an important sense, a beloved child of God is the means whereby we come to know ourselves as persons of infinite worth.

Human worth is affirmed in the Community of Christ Enduring Principle Worth of All Persons. Everyone has inestimable and equal worth. No one is lesser than others; no one is unimportant. The worth of all people is also assumed in the Enduring Principle All Are Called. Here everyone is affirmed as having gifts to share; all are invited—even summoned—into ministry as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Prayer Phrase

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9).

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.