But the love of God will be perfected within the one who obeys God’s Word. We can be sure that we’ve truly come to live in intimacy with God, not just by saying, “I am intimate with God,” but by walking in the footsteps of Jesus. (1 John 2:5-6, TPT)
What does one who walks in the revelation of being the Lord’s beloved look like?
He is faithful, courageous, and loving. He is also a witness to the truth of Jesus’ identity and mission.
The Beloved identity is important because it speaks to the nature of Jesus’ love. Jesus’ love is not partial or conditional. It is a love that is given freely and unconditionally, even to those who are considered to be unworthy.
After my encounter with the Lord on March 29, 2016, Holy Spirit has taken me on an 8-year journey in seeking out the Revelation of the Lord’s beloved, hidden but to those born of the Spirit (John 3:3), in the writings of John the Beloved.
On day one of that Journey, I was introduced to the teachings of Damon Thompson, who had been on the same journey since 2009. His teachings have provoked me to leave the religious-minded studies of the WORD and dive into a deep-seated intimate journey with Holy Spirit, exploring the oceans of God’s love.
Holy Spirit has used Damon’s teachings to seek out the rooms that had been housing the spirit of religion in my inner man for most of my life. With comments such as:
“Is my identity found in production or my proximity to Jesus”?
I have to admit that this journey has not always been comfortable, it has challenged much of what I perceived regarding the nature of God, causing me to allow Holy Spirit to totally rewrite my Theological beliefs.
I have come to the place in my life where I have fully embraced a quote from Bill Johnson:
“Jesus is perfect Theology”
With that, I have found a place of rest in Jesus, where my identity is safely hidden in His hands, where the voices of condemnation and guilt have no access to my life. I do not consider myself an expert on the topic of being a beloved disciple. However, I dare say I am a daring and hungry student to continue searching out these life-transforming scriptural truths.
In this journey I believe it is safe to say that to testify as to being His “Beloved” is found not so much in words, but rather in character and actions which display the dominion power of the Lord flowing up from a well of His love dwelling deep within His sons and daughters.
The Beloved identity also speaks to the transforming nature of Christian discipleship. For in the Lord’s teachings, we find that He called His disciples to be faithful, courageous, and loving.
They are also called to be living witnesses to the truth of Jesus Christ and the power of His love actively releasing life into each other’s lives.
Holy Spirit is renewing the revelation of the “Beloved Disciple” as an example of what a “New Creation” son or daughter in Christ looks like, for such a person, is one whose life is a living demonstration of the Lord’s love in action toward others, as they love others as Christ has loved them.
One last but important note regarding the actions of one walking in the revelation of being the LORD’s beloved. let us not be led astray by our emotions but let us remember that Jesus loves us enough to bring correction into our lives.
Thus, to passively tolerate another person’s bad un-Christ behavior without bringing correction in love is actually NOT loving them as the Lord loves us.
~Russ G. Welch
A.K.A. WindWalker
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 