PREVIEW: Did you know that God has favorites? The Bible tells us that he held the nation of Israel as the apple of his eye. Really — Deuteronomy 32:11 tells us, “God threw his arms around Jacob, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of his eye.” And Zechariah 2:8 warns, “Whoever touches Israel touches the apple of God’s eye.” The good news is that God not only played favorites with Israel, he holds you as the apple of his eye, too. How so? Through Christ’s blood! You see, when you placed saving faith in Christ, God took all the love he displayed for Israel, and for his Son, and he placed it on you. Now you are the one he loves.

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 17:8 (ESV)

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Did you know that God has favorites? The Bible tells us that he held the nation of Israel as the apple of his eye. Really — Deuteronomy 32:11 tells us, “God threw his arms around Jacob, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of his eye.” And Zechariah 2:8 warns, “Whoever touches Israel touches the apple of God’s eye.”

The good news is that God not only played favorites with Israel, he holds you as the apple of his eye, too. How so? Through Christ’s blood! You see, when you placed saving faith in Christ, God took all the love he displayed for Israel, and for his Son, and he placed it on you. Now you are the one he loves.

The late Brennan Manning tells one of my favorite stories about an Irish priest who was on a walking tour of his rural parish one day. And along the way, by the roadside, he found an old man, a peasant, kneeling in prayer. The priest was quite impressed, so he walked over and interrupted the man: “You must be very close to God.”

The peasant looked up from his prayers, thought for a moment, smiled, and said, “Yes, he’s very fond of me.”

This simple man had a simple faith that revealed a profound self-awareness of his true identity — he knew he was loved by God, and that was all that mattered! Manning developed his own personal declaration from that touching story. He would say of himself, “I am the one Jesus loves.”

It sounds a little arrogant, but he’s actually quoting Scripture. Jesus’ closest friend, John, identified himself in his Gospel as, “the one Jesus loved.” If you were to ask John, “What is your primary identity in life?” he wouldn’t reply, ‘I’m one of Jesus’ disciples — actually one of the three in his inner circle!” He wouldn’t say, “I’m one of the twelve apostles.” Nor would he identify himself as “the author of the Gospel that bears my name.” Rather, John would simply say, “I am the one Jesus loves.”

I hope that you, too, will take to saying that. More importantly, I pray that you will start believing it in your heart because if, and when you truly grasp how great the Father’s love for you really is, it will change your entire life!

Peter Kreeft insightfully wrote, “Sin comes from not realizing God’s love. Sin comes from thinking ourselves only as sinners, while overcoming sin comes from thinking ourselves as overcomers. We act our perceived identities.”

Friend, your identity is the one Jesus loves. Now start perceiving it. You are the apple of God’s eye—that is who you are. Your Father is watching over you at this moment with great delight. He will protect you, he will provide for you, and he will guide you … God’s got you covered!

Yes, you are the one Jesus loves. Now go act like it’s true, because it is!