Beloved | Reflection by Perkins Fellow Ashley Prillerman '25

What does it mean to be Beloved? In her book, Dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace, Osheta Moore first introduces “Beloved” to us through an invitation to a table of hard discussions. Here she says that at this table “you are seen as Beloved and your curiosity is honored”. Beloved? Then she keeps referring to the Beloved community, a description of “Dr. King’s vision for a community fully invested in each other because of a commitment to agape love”. This to me immediately sounded like the body that God invites us to be a part of. Well, what does “beloved” even mean? Merriam Webster says that to be “Beloved” means to be “dearly loved.” Was Osheta calling us dearly loved? I guess it makes sense then to call a community committed to agape love, a Beloved community. How much more it means not to only be loved, but to be dearly loved. Not only that, but she also challenges us to call others dearly loved.

Seeing the word Beloved being used to describe somebody has made such an impression. I hadn’t even thought of myself as being Beloved, but the God of the universe has called me such. How wonderful! The God of the universe has called me Beloved. Me? I am called “dearly loved” by my creator. Then I felt even more challenged. To be called “dearly loved” made me feel that I had to act as if I was “dearly loved”. What did it mean to know that I, myself, was Beloved? Then what does it mean to think and act as if others are Beloved too? Beloved is not merely an adjective but a fact. No matter how much I mess up or do well, I am Beloved. No matter how much somebody hurts me or builds me up, they, too, are Beloved. It simply is.

Matthew 22:39 says “Love your neighbor as yourself”. It's the second commandment that the Lord gives to us, after the first – to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (v. 37). See, if you love God, you will love others. Jesus gives us an example of this commandment in action to Peter in John 21, when he asks him: “Simon [Peter] son of John, do you love me?” When Peter answers that he does, Jesus tells him to “feed my sheep”. This is Jesus’ command. If you love me and follow me, you will love my people. So “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will,” that we too may be called Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-5)