Creator of all things, who fashioned us for your pleasure but also that we might join in that joy, teach us truly to see the worth of the people you put around us – their lives, desires, experiences, and the value you place upon them as your creations, that all of us would love one another and we would be free from the destruction of self-centeredness and isolation, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit sees the worth of each of your children. Amen. ‘Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’ – Exodus 20:12-17 Are there groups or people that you find it more difficult to see as loveable? People of a different political persuasion? A different faith? A different race? A different way of life or social standing? Try to be as honest as you can about this with yourself and with God, for we all carry some kind of sin and assumption. Does it change anything when you see them as valuable in God’s eyes – that the Lord loves them deeply? Does it change anything when you see yourself as valuable and loved, even in your sin?
Matthew R Green
PhD