“We are sent into this world for a short time to say — through the joys and pains of our clock-time — the great "Yes" to the love that has been given to us and in so doing return to the One who sent us with that "Yes" engraved on our hearts.”

I've only read one Nouwen book that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. After reading Life of the Beloved, I've still only read one Nouwen book that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed (and I can't remember the name of that one). This book was, however, different from most of his other books, but his humility and love for God and people still seeped through every page. I loved this book for its simplicity and down-to-earthness. No high and lofty theology here - just the basics. We're human: broken and imperfect, but God loves us and gives us each other to love.

I should just give in and schedule time to reread this every year, shouldn’t I

“The unfathomable mystery of God is that God is a Lover who wants to be loved. The one who created us is waiting for a response to the love that gave us our being. God not only says: “You are my Beloved.“ God also asks: “Do you love me?” and offers us countless chances to say “Yes.” That is the spiritual life: the chance to say “Yes“ to our inner truth. The spiritual life, thus understood, radically changes everything. Being born and growing up, leaving home and finding a career, being praised and being rejected, walking and resting, praying and playing, becoming ill and being healed – yes living and dying – they all become expressions of that divine question: “Do you love me?“”

Cried on the last page! God is gracious; God is redemptive.

If anyone could ask me to describe Henri in one word, i would either say 'True' or 'Sensitive'.
This man is SO TRUE yet sensitive at the same time. And by true i don't mean that he states facts, he just has the gift and ability to express what we feel but lack the ability to express. I bet you will find your heart shouting "Yes, I feel that to" while reading his words. He feels everything deeply and has blessed open eyes to what is going around him. He saw God in the details and came out with life lessons from all his life events.
This books is dedicated to a Jewish friend of his, Trying to introduce him to the spiritual life upon his own request. At the end the book didn't hit it's cause for the friend but definitely it touched me!
You can find in this book a unique new expression of God's Love for us, And how we should deal with that love in action.
Definitely worth your time!

Henri Nouwen gets it. He gets what so many people miss: the importance of viewing yourself how God sees you… as His Beloved. He writes in a way that almost feels counter-cultural to the way most Christian books are written these days: without any Christian jargon. The book was only 155 pages and boy did I take my time, and I’m glad I did. After each page, I needed to take a breath and just sit in the simple truth that I am deeply loved, and not only that, but I am also deeply liked, by my Father; and as much as I hate to admit it, that is constantly a tough pill for me to swallow. I truly think that everyone needs to read this book. We live in a world that wants to convince us that we will never be good enough, not even to our own standards, but Nouwen wants to challenge us to stop and listen to the good things that God says about us, because we are so quick to forget.

Re-reading this book that was scattered with notations and underlined quotes from 18 yr old Payton in freshman yr Bible study was so sweet & refreshing! This book is still a favorite - Nouwen has a way with words that is so accessible & filled with beauty! I could go on, but reading it yourself would be so much better (;

“When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one, and it chooses without making anyone else feel excluded.”

I think more of the book is stored away in my quote bank than not

This could be the most poetic book on Christian life that I know of.

The tone and the atmosphere are profoundly intimate and romantic but also true for many of us, if not all, who call ourselves beloved.

God can be presented as omnipotent, mighty and just, as the Lord to be honored, respected and feared of, which is correct and true; but a realization that one of His first attributes is love brings a revolution into believers life.
Accepting the truths that Nouwen writes of is a subtle battle but not an easy one. If we are chosen-therefore special ; blessed in a way Jesus was when the voice from Heaven said: „“You are my Beloved Son, on you my favor rests.”; if we suffer in a way no other human being suffers and give ourselves not just by what we do but even more by who we are, we are more close to the image God had in mind when he was creating us. How much we strive to see ourselves like that, but how many of us succeed?

Many reviews reflect on the fact that this book hasn’t served purpose it was started with. Because I’ve read them beforehand it was hard to shake off the impression but why is that important at all? Isn’t it often a case that we start something for one reason but it changes afterwards? God has used things and people in ways that were beyond imaginable at their starting point; so it was with this book. It is hard for me to imagine how would have I seen it if I wasn’t a believer but I surely am fascinated at the style and depth of the communication between two friends. With how many friends could we talk like that?

A refreshing reminder of who God sees you as every day.

“The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace”

“Long before anyone heard us, cry or laugh, we are heard by our God who is all ears for us”

“We were at home before we started to search for a home”

A really quick read. Nouwen has always been one of my favorites. I love that this was a letter to a friend. It refreshed me, much like The Ragamuffin Gospel, in a way that I need right now.