My heart hurts for a friend of mine. She loves God with her whole heart. Or, at least, she loves who she thinks God
is. This god of hers is very small. He is made in her image.
This friend of mine, she is so full of self-hatred; she
loves a god who shames her if she does anything she thinks is displeasing to
him. There are so many hoops that she
believes she has to jump through in order to please this god of hers…she can
never succeed. So her god is angry with
her…a lot. She is disappointed with
herself…a lot. Her worldview is broken;
her god-view is broken. The end result
is logical but very sad…she cannot love herself. Her theology fits like a glove into her
self-hatred. She can never please this
god of hers…and she can never please herself.
My heart hurts for this friend of mine. She used to be me.
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| Artwork by David Loy |
Dear friends, let us
love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because
God is love. This is how God showed his
love among us: He sent his one and only
Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:7-10
There is no fear in
love. But perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment.
The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19
Teacher, which is the
greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus
replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. This is the first
and greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ Matthew 22:36-39
It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm,
then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
You, my brothers, were
called to be free. But do not use your
freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14
Yep - gotta love yourself 'cause Jesus does!
ReplyDeleteYou got it, Jill! I used to think Humility = Self-hatred. So NOT true. The first time a Pastor told me that it was okay to love myself; not just okay, but required--I couldn't believe it. I had to ponder it for awhile...could this be true? Praise God that we can love because He first loved us.
DeleteJanice, Praise God you are no longer that girl, with that view of God and yourself!! And thank the Lord you are not willing to go back to that legalism for anything!!
DeleteYes! Thank you, Kelly. You have seen my journey, haven't you? God has been faithful...
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