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Socrates said, “Know thyself”.  Jesus goes one step further and says, “Love thyself”.  He doesn’t leave it there, He tells us how to do it: we must love God first, then love ourselves the way God loves us, and then we should love others as we love ourselves.

 

A stumbling block to knowing and loving ourselves is the negative view we often have of ourselves. This dissatisfaction with ourselves makes us want to be like others who seem to be everything we wish we could be. The good news is that God uses our dominant character traits for His good. He uses all types of people for His Kingdom because what each individual is, no-one else can be.  We are interesting, multi-faceted, surprising, fascinating, unique beings. Let’s shed the limiting and often damaging labels.  If we’re more comfortable living with a label, then let’s choose the life-affirming, liberating label “Beloved Child of God”.

"If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.” (St Therese of Lisieux)

 

Dr Seuss summed it up best in his poem "Happy Birthday to You!"  (an extract)

 

"But you…You ARE YOU!

And, now isn’t that pleasant!

Today you are you!

That is truer than true!

There is no one alive...

...who is you-er than you!

Shout loud, “I am lucky to be what I am!"