Tag Archives: Loving Oneself

Sharing Love

Advent

November 27, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 24:36-44
‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Cliches abound regarding not being aware of the realities that impact our lives and the lives of others. “They buried their heads in the sand.” “They have blinders on.” “They see through rose-colored glasses.” The truth is that we often see what we want to see, which means we must broaden our outlook to see what the Lord wants us to see. Jesus saw the lepers as ones who needed healing; the people saw them as a group to avoid. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan; the priest avoided the man who lay injured on the side of the road; the Samaritan helped him. When Jesus taught the 5,000, the Disciples wanted to send them away to get food when it came time to eat. Jesus said you give them something to eat.

We are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. How much do we love ourselves? How much is our reaction to others driven by our lack of self-worth? How much of our view of ourselves is driven by worldly measures, not God’s? Why do we feel unworthy when we were created in the very image of God? Jesus cautions us in Matthew 7:5, You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

One thing we can do each evening is to take the time to examine ourselves regarding our relationship with God. Where do we see God at work today? Where did we miss the mark? Each morning, we can consider our schedules, identify any activities that make us feel vulnerable, and invite the Holy Spirit to guide our responses in those situations. Also, we can identify something in our day that would allow us to share the love of God with others. I think we will find that the more we practice loving others as God loves them, we will strengthen our love for ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, open my eyes and heart to see ways to love others as I grow in recognizing that I am a person who can love like you. 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.

Wonderfully Made

Epiphany

January 13, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; –Psalm 139:1-6

How well do we know ourselves? How hard do we work at perfecting the person we are rather than changing ourselves to be someone else? In the story of Creation recorded in Genesis 1, we learn that humans were made in God’s image. When God surveyed all that had been created, God saw that it was good.

In Mark 12:31, quoting from Leviticus 19:9-18, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Part of the problem today is that many people have trouble loving themselves as God created them to be. If we do not love ourselves, how will we love our neighbors? We live in an environment that can and does attempt to define people in castes or hierarchies that are not true. They, however, set the stage for our internalizing the prejudices and stereotypes of others. Once we have taken on these ideas, we evaluate ourselves and others by those same prejudgments. Approximately 8 to 10% of the world population has blue eyes. Of the first 45 presidents of the United States, 30 or 67% had blue eye*, which most likely means they have a white, European background. We make judgments of ourselves and others by our misinterpretations of facts, not in evidence. There is a direct correlation between the number of Mexican lemon imports and the lowering of highway deaths. Does that mean we need to import more Mexican lemons to reduce road hazards?

Ridding ourselves of prejudices and stereotypes is impossible without the loving intervention of God, our Creator. That is why Psalm 139 is one of my favorite readings in the Bible. God knows us thoroughly, loves us completely, and if we invite and allow God to toil with us, we can persevere to be the person God created us to be. The more we grow toward being that person, the more God enables us to love one another and accept how each of us was wonderfully and beautifully made.

Prayer: Lord, I open my whole being to you today to clear out my prejudices and stereotypes and help me learn to celebrate the worth of all your other creatures, great and small. Amen.

*https://www.1800contacts.com/eyesociety/eye-color-of-winners-over-time/#:~:text=From%20the%20president’s%20eyes&text=In%20fact%2C%20blue%20eyes%20most,be%20a%20green%20eyed%i20president.

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.