18 Loving yourself

Luke 5:27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 


 I listen to music a lot, when I am driving, running, relaxing. I was listening to Hot Chocolates' Emma, a big hit for them in the 70s. It has always seemed to me a sad song about a woman who never really got a chance to prove herself on the big stage and a doting husband who desperately wanted to see her succeed. While all that is true. it also speaks of a young woman who is not content in herself. She lacks identity without the need to be recognised and loved by others. Her whole being has centred around this idea that somehow stardom would bring her the joy and fulfillment she needs. It is not an unfamiliar story and has been played down the centuries by both men and woman alike. Perhaps it mushroomed in the 20th century with the rise of TV and Cinema. It was not simply that Emma wanted a career or to make money to contribute to her relationship. No it was a hunger for what she believed would make her happy. 

Nowadays most therapists, psychologists etc will tell you that if you are not happy now, despite your circumstances, the chances are that you wont suddenly be happy by gaining money or success. Of course if you are living in abject poverty it might help, but the overall theory remains.

 In Luke 5 we read that Jesus called Matthew (Levi) to follow him. Levi was not a man in need of money, he made plenty "commision" collecting taxes. True he would not have a host of friends but he would have had a few around, he did invite many fellow tax collectors also. He was quite an important person, if hated by many. The fact he could put on a banquet at short notice to relative strangers shows he was a man of means. Yet after a brief encounter with Jesus, who offered him no money, no popularity, no particular prospects he upped and left everything. We do not know if Levi had been happy prior to his encounter with Jesus. All we do know was after a few minutes with the Master, he left his post and followed. Levi has seen that his value did not lie in the riches he could make, or the popularity with his peers, but in identifying with Jesus. 

For us to love ourselves we need to know not what we can achieve, but what has already been achieved for us. The sacrifice on the cross has made a way for us to not only love ourselves, but identify and love the living God who sent his Son to die for us. To accept that we were bought by the blood of Christ. It is not wrong to ant to achieve much, to want to better yourself, or to be inspired to new heights. But knowing that Jesus loved us and showed us our true value to God the Father should fill us with love for ourselves no matter what we have done in the past.Jesus is our present help and future guarantee. Our need to prove ourselves to people we do not even know in order to feel valued should be redundant. We love ourselves because we identify as children of God and the bride of Christ (as the church).What we do in life may bring us joy, friendship and focus, but we should already have our meaning and reality in who we are and who we identify with.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

23 Who is the church?

  Who is the church? Acts 8:29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Many years ago when I worked for Prison Fellowship, I planned a trip to Penningham Prison which is close to Newton Stewart around 50 miles west of Dumfries. I usually travel alone but this time I had a new friend I met in a church during a visit there. He had joined Prison Fellowship as a volunteer and asked to accompany me. After about 130 miles travel we broke down somewhere near Gatehouse of Fleet. We were on a long country road but stopped beside a solitary cottage house. We hoped someone was in and when we got an answer we asked to use their phone. PF had given me a breakdown card but it only covered a tow to the nearest gara
Read more

22 Feeling overwhelmed

 Luke 3:15   The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16   John answered them all, “I baptize you with [ b ]  water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with [ c ]  the Holy Spirit and fire. 17   His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18   And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them. A few things troubled me this week. I will speak of two. One was reading about the upsurge of Islamic extremism in Mozambique which has let to so far 2,500 dead and a further 750 thousand people being displaced. The second was the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, in which is highlighted the bad management of our oceans through over fishing, pollution and greed which is at the root of most of t
Read more

25 Do not forget your first love part 2

  Do not forget your first love part 2 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, whi
Read more