Earlier this week a homeless woman who I'll call "Katarina" told me that a homeless man who I'll call "Zack" had brutalized her. Soon after she had shared this raw wound with me, again we crossed paths. Then Katarina told me that Zack had come to her, repentant and regretful. Zack, a tall, burly, muscular man, had stood before Katarina, his lip quivering with remorse, and had apologized to her for how he had grossly mistreated her.
God can soften hardened hearts. God can transform brutality into repentance.
Just as God can lead us sinners to repent by guiding us through the Holy Spirit to forsake our hurtful behavior, so God can heal our wounded neighbor. I have already seen how Katarina has been healing, since she has been forgiving Zack. We heal ourselves and our neighbor when we forgive our neighbor.
To heal ourselves, also we must forgive ourselves. To heal ourselves, we must love ourselves. So that we may be restored to health, sometimes we must recognize that we are not responsible for how others have harmed us. Some people who have been abused blame themselves. We are not responsible for others' actions. However, we are responsible for how we respond to others' actions. God calls us to love ourselves, such that we do not blame ourselves for what others do to us.
God calls us not to perpetuate the suffering that others have inflicted on us by abusing ourselves. God calls us not to cling to our pain. God calls us to let go of our anguish by not fostering it through inaccurate images of ourselves.
God calls us not to recreate our torment by continuing to live in our pain. Some people who have been traumatized choose to relive the harrowing experience by putting themselves back into the same situation with the same person who abused them. Rather than live in past abuse which binds us to death, God calls us to new life. Jesus has told us that He came so that we might have new life, and have it to the full.*
We find life in Jesus, who is The Way to The Life, which is The Truth.** We find life when we love others as Jesus loves us.***
God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves.**** Since God calls us to love others, we must also love ourselves. We must accord ourselves the same love we bestow upon others. We owe ourselves a duty to love ourselves.
If we love ourselves, we choose life.***** As we love ourselves, we move toward having life to the full. When we love ourselves, we move toward God. In loving ourselves, we start to become who God has always meant us to be.
As we become who God has always intended us to be, at the same time we are praising God and glorifying Him. When we open our hearts to who God made us to be, we acknowledge His rightful place as our Creator, and thus come to love our Heavenly Father with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.******
As we become who God made us to be, we draw back home to God and toward Heaven. Let us love ourselves, our neighbor, and thus become who God created us to be. Amen.
* John 10:10
** John 14:6
*** John 13:34; John 15:12
**** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
***** Deuteronomy 30:19
****** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
God can soften hardened hearts. God can transform brutality into repentance.
Just as God can lead us sinners to repent by guiding us through the Holy Spirit to forsake our hurtful behavior, so God can heal our wounded neighbor. I have already seen how Katarina has been healing, since she has been forgiving Zack. We heal ourselves and our neighbor when we forgive our neighbor.
To heal ourselves, also we must forgive ourselves. To heal ourselves, we must love ourselves. So that we may be restored to health, sometimes we must recognize that we are not responsible for how others have harmed us. Some people who have been abused blame themselves. We are not responsible for others' actions. However, we are responsible for how we respond to others' actions. God calls us to love ourselves, such that we do not blame ourselves for what others do to us.
God calls us not to perpetuate the suffering that others have inflicted on us by abusing ourselves. God calls us not to cling to our pain. God calls us to let go of our anguish by not fostering it through inaccurate images of ourselves.
God calls us not to recreate our torment by continuing to live in our pain. Some people who have been traumatized choose to relive the harrowing experience by putting themselves back into the same situation with the same person who abused them. Rather than live in past abuse which binds us to death, God calls us to new life. Jesus has told us that He came so that we might have new life, and have it to the full.*
We find life in Jesus, who is The Way to The Life, which is The Truth.** We find life when we love others as Jesus loves us.***
God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves.**** Since God calls us to love others, we must also love ourselves. We must accord ourselves the same love we bestow upon others. We owe ourselves a duty to love ourselves.
If we love ourselves, we choose life.***** As we love ourselves, we move toward having life to the full. When we love ourselves, we move toward God. In loving ourselves, we start to become who God has always meant us to be.
As we become who God has always intended us to be, at the same time we are praising God and glorifying Him. When we open our hearts to who God made us to be, we acknowledge His rightful place as our Creator, and thus come to love our Heavenly Father with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.******
As we become who God made us to be, we draw back home to God and toward Heaven. Let us love ourselves, our neighbor, and thus become who God created us to be. Amen.
* John 10:10
** John 14:6
*** John 13:34; John 15:12
**** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
***** Deuteronomy 30:19
****** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
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