We believe that faith in Jesus prompts us to express our faith through action. To a community of people who often feel unworthy of God’s love and grace, or simply unnoticed by God or His people, the Be Loved ministry finds intentional ways to impress upon the hearts of these men and women that God deeply cares for them. Regardless of whether or not a person appears to have a relationship with Jesus, the need to be reminded of God’s love is constant. Because of this, the Be Loved ministry looks for every day, ordinary and sometimes extraordinary, opportunities to show others that they are valued by us, and in turn, encouraged to remember that they are valued by our Savior. As Castle Rock Community Church began meeting, a member of the leadership team desired to have a simple, tangible way to express God’s love to those around us. Having a heart for the homeless, as well as a simple love for the blankets and quilts that his extended family made, he came up with the Be Loved Blanket. Laser embossed with the image of angel wings, (each with part of the phrase “Be Loved” embedded within each wing), this blanket has become the primary expression of love from one to another.
Rather than simply handing out this blanket to someone as a gift, we have encouraged a delivery method that is more personal. When giving the blanket to someone, the giver opens the blanket, lays it across the person’s shoulders and wraps it around them while speaking an affirmation of their love and God’s love to them. Much like the manner in which Jesus would interact with those who were “forgotten or rejected” in His day, this blanket “ceremony” as it could be called, delivers a human touch that cannot be done without close, heartfelt contact.
Our prayer for the individual in that moment is that as they are embraced by the warmth and enveloping nature of the blanket, they would be reminded that the warmth, love, affection and eyes of Jesus are upon them; that Jesus sees them and that Jesus desires for them to know what it is truly like to Be Loved.