“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
I am learning that to truly love others, we must learn how to truly love ourselves. And to truly love ourselves, we must learn how to love as Jesus loves. Loving ourselves in such a way is not the same thing as thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought. It is ultimately about entrusting the sanctity of all we are as humans to the holiness of all Christ is as Divine.
Truly loving ourselves does not lend to arrogance but to humility. In fact, it is the only way genuine humility is possible because we come to recognize the worth of our lives not through the myth of our egos but through the reality of the Cross. We come to realize that God Incarnate—the Loving Creator of the universe—would not have sacrificed Himself for something unworthy of dying for.
When we can see our value through the lens of our Loving Redeemer, we will see ourselves and others differently. We will discover authentic love for ourselves and others emerging from the depths of our souls. This idea reminds me of a tiny, tender leaf emerging from a seed planted in the darkness of the earth’s soil as it reaches for the light of life. Similarly, our love for ourselves and others will emerge as we recognize the value of who we are and who others are in the context of a Loving Creator and Redeemer. There is nothing prideful about it. Loving ourselves and others is simply yet profoundly Good, Right, and True as our Creator has established Love to be.
~em
Hi Edie! I am new to your blog from a couple of weeks ago. I love your blog! I hope you are enjoying writing it. Today's is yet another apparent paradox that our faith seems loaded with - grasping the humility that Christ exuded, yet knowing in our hearts that God, the Creator of All Things, loves us and finding that we are worthy of love. And then, in turn loving others. It's another wonderful conundrum to ponder in the coming week. Thanks for writing and keep up the good work!
Dave