The most terrifying thing ...
It reminded me of how love is a two way street. Many of us focus most on loving other people but have a difficult time receiving love from others. I sometimes wonder if it is because we find it hard to love and accept ourselves. Carl Jung put it this way:
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”Interesting that Jung does not tell us to accept what we do but who we are. I think that it is difficult to do this because people identify more with what they do than who they are. When we meet a person they ask us what we do. And if we have been raised in abusive families we sometimes take on the identity of the abusers. So it is really hard to see ourselves as people created in the image of God. I think that is why the scriptures tell us to love as we love ourselves.
Good thoughts, Bob.
ReplyDeleteWhen we answer the question, "What do you do?" we tend to reply, "I am a.----," thereby defining ourselves by what we do. How limiting! Worse, for many people retirement erases their identity, because they no longer have that job by which they defined themselves. Me? I am a child of God.
I agree with you vanilla. I share in that identity.
DeleteIt is indeed a most terrifying question when you are asked "who are you". It requires so much soul searching to answer the question that nobody dares ask it, because they will get asked in return. The most important moment though is when God ask us who we are, and we are save only when we reply "I am your child, saved by grace through the cross of Christ."
ReplyDeleteYour comment speaks to me Pearlie of the identity we have because we are in relationship with God.
DeleteI never feel worthy of being loved but I do love to love others!
ReplyDeleteI get that Debby. Loving ourselves and allowing ourselves to be really difficult.
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