Learn to be Loved

When addressing the topic of awakening for the purpose of living aware that becomes foundational for in-depth change it would be easy to overlook the obvious. We awaken through love. The tendencies of our heart is to live from a posture of defensiveness. We are self-protective. The ego’s default is to be reactive. We either fight, freeze or flee. None of these options move us any deeper into transformation. 

We have often stated that the first movement of Christian spirituality is to learn to be loved. Learning to be loved is the reenactment of the first stage of childhood in which we learned to trust because we knew we were loved. God comes to us and in Christ declares we are loved by him. His love seeks for us not to fight, freeze or flee but to live openheartedly before him. He longs for us to welcome him, to receive him. William Blake said it long ago,

And we are put on earth with a little space,

That we might learn to bear the beams of love.

The security of God’s love will open our hearts. His love saves us, holds us and preserves us. He won’t forsake us. His love is not dependent on what we discover within ourselves or in our relationships. His love is not dependent on our level of awareness or the goodness of our behavior. His love is a faithful and everlasting love. 

Love is the power that changes the human soul. Most of us believe this but only trust this truth minimally. Perhaps this is why deep change of the soul is slow and takes time. We are learning to trust that we are truly loved just as we are. We know love fosters change. We can see it when we express love in our ordinary relationships and watch the results. Most people respond to being loved with a willingness to be more than what they are. Perhaps nothing gets in the way of our being deeply transformed than our resistance to being deeply loved. 

Our defenses are stubborn and ornery. God’s invitation stands daily that we receive being loved from the Father, Son and Spirit. We rest in God’s love and in his love we are transformed. We live bearing the beams of God’s love. Change is anchored in the love of our Trinitarian God.

Excerpt from The Relational Soul by Rich Plass & James Cofield