Tag Archives: Loving Ourselves

Loving Like Jesus

Living in the Spirit

July 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ –Luke 10:25-28

These words spill easily off the lips of most of us who were raised in a church. I wonder if we know what they mean. What does Jesus imply when he says, do this, and you will live. Some may read that as the promise of eternal life. We might think that if we love others, we will live in a society that protects one another. The Greek word, zaó, translated here as life means to experience God’s gift of life, emphatically, and in the Messianic sense, to enjoy real life, i. e. to have true life and worthy of the name — active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God*. This life is not just something to look forward to in the future. It was gifted to us by God when he breathed the breath of life** into each of us.

What we do with the life we are given is the purpose of the above scripture. Life is not life if it does not answer the command to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. For some reason, I fear, we have failed in understanding that each and all of God’s creations are loveable. As I compare the backgrounds of the young men who have been accused of recent mass shootings, I keep seeing people who do not love themselves. We can identify them at very young ages. We can teach people how to love themselves. We can teach children how to share their love rather than make fun of someone they do not understand. Before that can happen, we adults, need to learn the lesson too. Need to learn to love ourselves, want the very best for ourselves, and want the very best for all others. We must model love for all our children. The best role model I know for refining our ability to love is Jesus, the Christ. Now is a great time to read through the gospels and search out Jesus’s love in action.

Prayer: Lord, show us again how to love like you until we get it right. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2198.htm

See Genesis 2:7

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Habit of Loving

Advent

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

In all things, always start with love and see where it leads you. We often think of habits as bad things. Developing good habits will help you live longer and be more competent. However, I am not sure that I ever thought of love as a habit to cultivate. I believe that is what Paul is describing above.

To make love the driving force in our lives, we must understand love. The word “love” used in this Scripture is translated from the Greek agápē – properly, love which centers in moral preference. In the NT, 26 (agápē) typically refers to divine love (= what God prefers). Other words describing love are benevolence, goodwill, esteem. God’s love is given with no strings attached unconditionally.

How do we love unconditionally? How do we love without letting the influences of the world define how we see and deal with others? I just saw on the news a report of a black family living in a lovely home in a good neighborhood, having the home’s value appraised. They thought the appraisal was far too low and wondered if their race impacted the estimate. So they removed any pictures or other indicators that the home might be owned by African Americans and had a white friend acting the part of the owner greet the next appraiser and show them around the house. The second appraisal was $500,000 more than the first appraisal.

When we interact with others, do we first see the image of God by which they were created, or do we cast the world’s judgment on them? If that is the case, we need to develop the habit of looking for the image of God in each person we meet.

Finally, we must apply this same system to loving ourselves. Our problems of not loving like God result from our inability to love ourselves as a child of God.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to follow your instruction to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/26.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Loving Self, Loving Others

Eastertide

May 12, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 1
Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Lord is our judge and the judge of everyone*. None of us receive that assignment.  Our job is to love God with all our hearts, strength, souls, and minds, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves**.  God instilled in us the ability to do our job when we were made in God’s image***, the image of the One who is love. God was magnanimous (devoid of meanness) enough to desire that we choose to love by giving us free will. Love is not love unless it is freely given.

When I read the first part of Psalm 1, I was uplifted to be reminded that even amid evil, God is with us, loves us, and provides for our wellbeing. As I read the end of the second verse where it says the way of the wicked will perish, I realized it does not say the wicked will die, but their evil ways will be destroyed. If the evil ways are gone, the wicked are no longer wicked.

In our world today, we seem to have a pandemic of hate for those who do not view the world exactly as we do, which plays out as being self-righteous rather than the righteousness of God. The sad thing is that self-righteousness is often an expression of feelings of inferiority. At times we humans need to establish our self-worth by downgrading the worth of others.  All humans are made in the image of God. None of us need to establish that we are better than anyone else. God is great enough to love every one of us just as we are as we strive with God’s guidance to fulfill God’s dreams established at our creation. God can and will help us shed any wickedness we might have picked up along the way if we seek God’s help.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, forgive us when we do not love ourselves enough to understand what it means to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Help us see clearly when the questioning of our worth fogs our relationships.  Amen.

*John 5:22
**See Luke 10:27
***See Genesis 1:27

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Becoming Whole

Lent

April 4, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:14-27:66

When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’ –Matthew 26:17-25

Why did Judas betray Jesus? Some say he was just greedy, and 30 pieces of silver sounded pretty good to him. Others speculate that he was impatient, trying to force Jesus to make his move and take over the world. The Gospel of Judas written by Gnostics, probably in the second century, portrays Judas’s actions as done in obedience to instructions given to him by Jesus. According to the book, Judas was a trusted insider helping Jesus roll out his plan. Of course, it is all speculation. Do we ever know for sure our own motivations much less the motivation of another when we commit an act that resonates negatively through the lives we touch?

This upcoming Holy Week is a good time for each of us to surrender ourselves to God seeking better understanding of our relationship with God and how that relationship can purify us from our deep-seated self-doubt perhaps even self-denigration.  I firmly believe that when Jesus said love your neighbor as you love yourself*, he was sending us a message about what motivates us to do the things that separate us from God, cause us to miss the mark. I know it may sound crazy that people are greedy because they do not love themselves enough but why else would someone invest so much energy in obtaining outward wealth? Isn’t greed a deep need to fill a gap in the person’s self-worth? Jesus could heal others because he was whole himself. Wholeness leads to oneness and oneness leads to justice. We are called to facilitate each of these, and we fulfill that responsibility when our communing with God enables the work of our whole being in taking God’s love to the ends of the earth.

Prayer: Lord, throughout this time of remembering your life, death, and resurrection open us to receiving your cleansing of those things that hold us back from being fully whole. Amen.

*See Mark 12:30-31

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Learning Love

Kingdom Building

September 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

 So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. –Luke 15:1-7

Yesterday, I explored the definitions of a sinner in conjunction with the use of that word “sinner” in 1 Timothy 1:12-17. Two definitions were given: falling short of what God approves and forfeiting because of missing the mark. Today the lectionary developers illustrate that scripture further by sharing some of Jesus’ parables. The lost sheep has clearly missed the mark and may well have strayed from what God approves. What does the shepherd do? He or she searches for the lost sheep until the sheep is found and returned to the flock. The sheep was saved by and through the direct act of God’s love through the shepherd.

As followers of Christs we are called to share God’s love among ourselves and with every soul on this earth. We demonstrate God’s love through our lives and our concern for the other.  When the other is struggling to meet their basic needs those needs must be met before they can move beyond their sense of survival.  Jesus recognized this when in Matthew 25 he commanded us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, restore the prison, and welcome the stranger. Such actions open the door to introduce those in need to the love of God.  When the other is struggling with searching for self-worth in accumulation of wealth or power and coming up empty, we are called to love them in such a way that they can find the fulfillment by learning to love themselves enough to love others. God hardwired us with the capacity to love one another and we will always be restless until we accept that.

 Prayer: God of Grace and Mercy, teach us how to love one another as you love us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Loving Ourselves

LoveThyNeighborAsThyselfLiving in the Spirit
November 17, 2015

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-7

Is not my house like this with God?
   For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
   ordered in all things and secure.
Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?
But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away;
   for they cannot be picked up with the hand;
to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear.
   And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot. –2 Samuel 23:3-7

2 Samuel 23:1-7 is described as the last words of David before his death. The words above are the last segment of the scripture. David sinned mightily in his love. He not only committed adultery but he had the women’s husband killed so he could claim her as his own. He knew from life experiences how hard it is for any to rid ourselves of our actions, habits of the heart, that are most detrimental to us and thus also detrimental to our relationship with God. The admonition to love our neighbors as we love ourselves is twofold, loving the other reflects the love we have for ourselves.

David sought God’s forgiveness after the prophet Nathan called him to task for what he had done. Perhaps that confrontation is what made him realize how hard it is to rid ourselves of the prickly thorns that infest our beings. Actually we probably cannot rid ourselves. It is God’s unmerited love and forgiveness that purges us of those things in our lives that prevent us from loving as we are called to do—even loving ourselves.

Prayer: Loving and Forgiving Father, protect us from projecting our own pain and shame into our concern and care for others. Forgive us when we judge and condemn others as helpless attempts to save ourselves. Make us whole, make us one. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Pleasing God

loving selfLiving in the Spirit
October 23, 2014

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. — 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Scholars believe that the letters to the Thessalonians are the earliest of Paul’s letters that have been identified. It appears that even though this correspondence dates from the first century, it describes quite well the state of our world today. No one knows who to trust so we didn’t trust anyone. We use every means possible, good or bad, to sway people toward our way of thinking as do others. One only has to listen to a few of the political ads on TV right now to see this in action. Paul thought the situation so tenuous in his day that he felt the need to explain his credibility by saying he was not trying to please anyone but God. In our world so many bad apples have tied themselves to God, God now has a bad name among some.

Skilled athletes, dancers, and singers continuously practice the fundamentals of their trade until they become automatic for them and then they practice some more. We, as followers of Christ, must practice the fundamentals of our faith working together as the one Body of Christ in the world today. No I am not talking about the Fundamentalism of the 19th century. I am talking about the fundamentals set forth by Jesus Christ in the first century: loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. For most of us those words roll easily off our tongues, but practicing them until they become automatic is a very different experience. To love God first requires us to discern how we love and who and what we love in general. Where does God fit into that laundry list of our priorities? And that is just the first step.

In our world today, loving our neighbors is way out of sync. Of course, in God’s eyes when we are not loving our neighbors we are not really loving God. In all honesty if we read the whole verse from which that phrase is quoted (Matthew 22:3 records Jesus quoting Leviticus 19:18) we will see that it says You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Perhaps loving God also requires loving ourselves enough to be the people God created us to be and not to sell ourselves out to lesser Gods like greed and power and pride that are often at the core of how and why we treat our neighbors as we do.

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12)

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.