I’m absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely NOTHING can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. – Romans 8:39 (The Message)
We often hear how we’re supposed to love others as we love ourselves. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. My problem with these requirements is that I don’t think we love ourselves very much. There may have been a time – a long time ago – when people were intensively aware of what they wanted out of life and found a way to get it. But lately, when I hear people talking, I hear self-flagellation.
“Rats, I forgot to call Aunt Frieda! She’ll never forgive me!” “Holy cow, I forgot that Zoom meeting for the fifth week in a row! How stupid can I be?” “How could I have forgotten to use the soap this morning when I was washing my face?” These comments are more likely to come from our mouths than: “Wow! I did a great job in explaining quantum physics to my students! They all passed the test!” “Look at this quilt I made! Isn’t it beautiful?” “I make the best hamburger stroganoff!”
How would we behave differently if we knew how precious we are to God? Studies have been done to determine the best way to discipline children. If you haven’t yet read any of Brené Brown’s work on shame and vulnerability, I highly recommend you dip your toe into those waters. It seems that people use either shame or guilt to discipline others. Shame is when the person isn’t good enough and probably will never be good enough to count. Guilt is when the person knows better. A mistake was made but the person now knows what should have happened and can learn from the experience.
If we embrace the belief that we are dumber than a pile of rocks, what would be the point of trying to learn differently. If we believe that we are born to fail, why try to succeed? Sometimes, however, there is a glimmer of hope that we may not be as rotten as we’ve been told. We learned how to tie our shoes so we might be able to learn other skills – like making stroganoff. Do you ever stop to think about the price that God paid for you? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God loves us so much that he allowed his Son to die on a cross, paying off all the debts we owe to God so that we can come to Him freely. In God’s eyes, we are priceless!
If he thinks so highly of us, there may be more to us than we think! Maybe we can make this work after all!
Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She is the author of “Jessie’s Corner: Something to Think About,” a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.
