Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
It often seems easier to love what we don’t know
than to love what we know
To love our neighbour and to love God
can be abstract endeavours
that we manage with a modicum of success
-or so we imagine.
Loving ourselves?
That calls into play a whole other set of skills
-skills that may have atrophied from lack of use
Skills that are honed and developed from seeds deep within
muscle memory waiting to be revived.
Rekindling love for self takes practice
and disciplined effort for some
Effort that shows up - in how we love God
and in how we are enabled to see in every neighbour
the image of God.
Love God, love your neighbour, love yourself.
(Liz Crumlish)
