Early Promise of Solomon’s Reign



MORNING PRAISE
February 08, 2020
Saturday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
Early Promise of Solomon's Reign
1 Kings, 3:4-13


Last Monday, Jollibee released #Space, a short film/long-form advertisement that is part of its Kwentong Jollibee Valentines series this year. I will not go into the details why I am not impressed by the execution of the concept, but I can tell you this much: redemption came towards the end of the film, as the screen turned red, and in white Jollibee font, the following words were displayed: 



As cliché and as cheesy as this will sound, the ad reminded me of my own love story: my love story with God. It is the story of a thirty-seven-year-old man who is not exactly the best there is – a man who is constantly surrounded by people who are much better in every respect; a man who is flawed, limited, and imperfect; a man with a sordid past, and a future hanging by a thread.

And yet God, in His perfection and boundless generosity, chooses to gloss over all of these shortcomings and assures me that He loves me unconditionally and in my entirety. He knows, but does not care if I am not the best, but loves me as though I were.

While relishing this idea that God, in his infinite wisdom and compassion can love this imperfect man, I found myself asking myself a question: “How about you, Sandy? Do you truly love yourself?”

I wish I could say “yes” but at best what I can say is a mere “I am working on it.” The brutal reality is that much of my life had been devoted to a vicious cycle of setting very high, nearly unattainable standards for myself and then miserably failing to meet them. It then leads me to toxic self-loathing that blinds me and keeps me from seeing the good in me and my value as a human being.

And so my dear brothers today I beg for the grace to be able to truly love myself; to look beyond my flaws and see my life’s worth, as God lovingly does. For if God who is perfect chooses to love me despite my imperfections, I have no reason to not truly love myself.

And should the world’s needs spring from where my inadequacies abound, I pray that I may have the courage to turn to God the way Solomon did; to be aware of the things and capabilities that I lack, and to rely not on my limited faculties but instead on God’s unmatchable, overflowing grace.

Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. … He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf


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