I’m becoming more and more convinced as a therapist and as a Believer, that the secret to healthy relationships and good mental health is knowing the love of God.

Brennan Manning, in “The Ragamuffin Gospel” wrote:

“Self-hatred is an enormous obstacle to loving other people. Usually we dislike others not because we love ourselves too much, but because we’re not able to love ourselves enough. We fear and distrust others because we feel inadequate. We hide behind anger, sarcasm or judgmentalism because we’re convinced that we don’t measure up ourselves.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to recognize our intrinsic worth and dignity, to love ourselves humbly and wholesomely, and to forgive ourselves as we have been forgiven. Anything less is a refusal to accept God’s love for us. In fact, it is a rejection of Christ’s death on the cross for us as a colossal blunder.”

Quoting Father Adrian von Kahn, Manning continued:

“Gentleness toward my precious, fragile self as called forth uniquely by God constitutes  the core of my gentleness with others, and it is also the main condition for my presence to God.”

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”    -The Apostle Paul

This Christmas, may you know the love of God that transforms your view of Him, how you view yourself at the deepest level and how you love in your relationships others.