This quote is from Today’s English Version of the Bible. I like it. The New Revised Standard says: “Give yourself the esteem you deserve”. And the New Jerusalem says: “Value yourself at your proper worth”.
Actually the first part of that verse counsels humility! So where does our true worth come from? Not from what others think of us. And not really from our accomplishments either. Not how much money we make. Why not? Because even these are a gift from God. After all, we did not choose where we were born or what family we might have.
Our true worth is that we are loved unconditionally by God. Thomas Merton wrote “The root of Christian love is not the will to love, but the faith that one is loved. The faith that one is loved by God.” (New Seeds of Contemplation. New York, a New Directions Book. 1961. p.75)
"Nothing or no one is more beautiful than I, since God -- beauty itself -- has fallen in love with me." Angelus Silesius 1670
Our reality is that we are greatly loved. There is no pretension here. Our reality is that we have been loved into life. And that the love God has for us is forever. This is our faith. When the Bible expresses God’s anger with us, we need to realize this is like the anger my Mother had when I went near the Troublesome Brook and fell is. She had after all, warned me no to go near it. . Why was she angry? Because I had done what was bad for me, dangerous. It was from her love for me. So punishment was to make me remember what was safe and not dangerous. I was probably only 10 but I knew well that my Mother loved me.
Often we identify ourselves with our work. This is not true. What is the first reality about me? I am the beloved of God. What is the first reality about you> You are God’s Beloved.
When we take the time to be silent in the Presence of God, we are opening our hearts to love. When we sit quietly and repeat a prayer phrase, we are letting go of our own agenda and letting God do with us as His love wants to do. We are entrusting our lives and our inner being to the great and enduring love that God has for us. We cry out with Jeremiah: The Mercies of the Lord are new every morning, great is thy Faithfulness. The feast days of the Christmas season are a yearly reminder to us that God has so loved the World that he gave us his only begotten Son. (John 3)
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