The One Jesus Loved
Hey you guys! This week is super exciting because our blog is written by one of my dearest friends. During this blog, you are going to have the wonderful honor of seeing her sweet heart. Without further adue, I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Jordan Sims Cassidy.
I'm Jordan. 23. By the grace of God, I am a lover of Jesus. I am a wife to the best guy I know. Graduated from Jacksonville State University and am currently #stillinschool at Samford getting my masters to be a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).I find food puns to be weirdly satisfying. I love being outside where the fresh air is and I use to wear hippie headbands so much that I started getting a receding hairline-- it grew back don't worry. Here is what God has been sharing with me lately.
THE ONE JESUS LOVED
This is what the disciple John referred to himself as in John 19:26, John 20:2, John 21:7, John 21:20. When I first came across this, I thought to myself, “Wow, a little arrogant, John, don’t ya think? Referring to yourself as the one Jesus loved?!” I pictured him writing it down with a “disciples edition” hair flip and all kinds of sass.
But God gently reminded me that ... no ... that’s what the devil wants you to think... This simple truth is the base of our identity... to KNOW we are loved the by The King and claim it as the very essence of who we are.
Let me ask you something. What is the first thing you want someone to know about you when you first meet them? Really think about it… I’ll wait.
Personal example…When I was in high school and college the first thing I wanted people to know about me was that I was a that “good softball pitcher from Glencoe.” It was my identity--I was “Jordan Sims Division 1 Softball Player.” Well, long story short, I did not play much my freshman and sophomore year and wow, did this completely break me. People would ask me if I was playing and with each “no” I said slowly broke me in half little by little. My junior year I had a career ending back injury that took me out of the game completely. So, simply put, I did not play a lick.
At the end of my junior year, I just was so confused. Why in the world God would use all kinds of divine intervention to get me to JSU, and then use it to completely break me in half (no joke, I cried more in those 4 years than I had in my whole 22 years of living).
He did this because He loved me too much to let me sit there and continue to put my identity in something that wasn’t solid or consistent. My whole softball journey was a rollercoaster of emotions. It was a gift that I made into a god. I wanted it to satisfy my every need and completely fulfill me and Jesus reminded me that only He could do that.
The world is begging us to put our identity in literally ANYTHING other than Jesus. Because he knows that when our identity is in Jesus--we flourish and become truly confident in who we are in Christ.
Today, know that you are the one Jesus loves.
My prayer: Whew! Jesus, help us to remember who we are in You. We are first children of God. We are not identified by our profession, our relationship status, the kind of car we drive, or how “good” we can be. We are yours and Your grace in enough.
