The story...
It was later in my life when I first heard a respected person say that I needed to love myself before I could fully love others. The same message was likely dispatched to me at an earlier age but I clearly didn't receive it. I know I heard the second greatest commandment: "... love your neighbor as yourself." This is a core tenant of Judeo-Christianity; so, why was this so hard to first comprehend?
I knew that loving others was a virtue but loving "me" sounded like a selfish or proud man's bane. And, I knew that I was flawed in ways that we surely want to keep to ourselves if we expect to be accepted by others.
Yes, I accepted that I'm fully loved by God and can love me too. Quiet meditation after my "normal" prayers, with my thinker in the back seat, is a time where actually being loved can be realized.
People will find true freedom within the only church in town. They'll grow to love themselves and their neighbors too. Scripture says we're made in the image of God and that God loves us so much that His Son redeems the full sin burden for those who are His. With our sins covered by the blood of Christ, we're empowered to walk humbly and vicariously with God - loved. Might that be part of the good life that continues on into eternity?
I ain't never going back to that old, commiserating, crappy, selfish life where people wallow in their sin, polish their medals, compare themselves to others, and "try" to please those who couldn't care less. I will to keep my eyes less on me and more on others. I want to be in tune with what's really going on and experience being loved and loving too.
Just for today...
"I always expected my happiness to come through others, especially my . . . parents. I spent most of my life waiting for them to show their love and approval in a way that I could understand. They didn't, and I felt deprived and unlovable as a result. . . The only person wo can love me the way I want to be loved is me." Courage to Change (p. 107)
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