Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Jesus was teaching in the synagogue when he was asked, “Which is the greatest of the commandments?” The question was a trap for at the time there were 613 laws. Many of the Jews were fixated on the laws and lost sight of the central teachings of the Torah and the heart of God’s message. Jesus cuts through all the complexity with clarity, power, and genuine simplicity by perfectly summarizing this Gospel verse.
But perhaps what is most important here is also what is most often overlooked. It may also be one of the hardest aspects of the Christian faith to live. In these lines, Jesus invites us to a total love of God and a generous love of neighbor, but He assumes that we already love ourselves. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is a connection between our ability to love ourselves in a healthy way and our ability to love our neighbor. This is a major stumbling block for many of us as Christians. Many Christians do a horrible job of loving themselves. We get wrapped up in self- doubt which is unhealthy. We are often less willing to forgive ourselves than God is to forgive us. We judge ourselves which are in ways that are unproductive. On the surface, of course, we pretend otherwise. Jesus is not interested in the surface; He is interested what is in our hearts.
I am not speaking of the love of self that is blind or boastful, but rather the love of self that acknowledges that we are weak and wounded, and at the same time that we are amazing children of God. It is that unique combination of humility and gratitude that allows us to acknowledge (even if we don’t understand it) that God loves us deeply, the He loves us for a reason, and that alone is proof that we are lovable. We are lovable. You are lovable. Our inability to love ourselves may be one of the biggest problems in the Church today. For until we learn to love ourselves as God wants us to, our ability to love others will be limited and deformed.
When we love ourselves, we become less interested in what others think about us and more interested in what God thinks. When we love ourselves, we don’t do things just to get noticed or praised or accepted. Learn to love yourself. That is radical. Your ability to love yourself will have a direct impact on your ability to love God and to love your neighbor. “As God’s chosen ones, holy, and beloved, clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12.
God’s Blessings,
Pastor Gary
“ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ”
Matthew 22:39