I Am

Leviticus 19:1-2 and Leviticus 19:15-18New International Version (NIV)

Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

You have often heard me say that Jesus quotes this very scripture when he talks about loving your neighbor.  Therefore, the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself was not new when Jesus spoke of it.  When answering that tough question from the lawyer in Matthew, Jesus went back to his knowledge of the Old Testament.  He went back to his roots to explain his answer to the question of the greatest commandment.  Staying within the theme of going back to our roots, this morning I want to explore what it means to love your neighbor, as yourself.  You see, loving your neighbor is only half of the answer.... We must love our neighbor... as we love ourselves.  When we focus on loving our neighbors, we may lose sight of loving ourselves.  This begs the question, “Can we love our neighbor if we do not first love ourselves?”

I don’t think we can... Jesus expanded and explained what loving your neighbor means through his actions and his words.  Again, this means Jesus must also expand what it means to love ourselves but we often lose focus of this.  It is impossible to truly love our neighbor to the extent we are called if we do not take care of ourselves first.  There must be a balance.  If we aren’t truly happy within the context of our own mind and body, then we are not able to love our neighbor to the extent we are called.  We can try.  But we will fall short and here is why: if we are called to love our neighbor as ourself but we are not happy or content with ourselves then we can only love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.  In other words, if we do not like our own self, then it is difficult to love our neighbor.  We will always want what the have.... Or they will never live up to our impossible standard.... Or we will spread slander.... Or we will pervert justice.... Or we will show partiality to the poor.... Or we will show favoritism to the great.  You see, it’s impossible to judge our neighbor fairly if we do not fairly judge ourselves first.  

If we do not like the way we look, if we battle bouts of depression, if we battle addiction or a recurring sin, it is nearly impossible to love our neighbors if we do not love ourselves.  We can fake it but that only carries us so far.  Our relationship with God is a personal one and it is the most important one.  It is the most important because the rest of our relationships our unbalanced if we don’t first take care of it.  That balance can only be found in God first and foremost.  Without it, life and relationships are chaotic and lack balance.  They are up and down and full of turmoil.  They look more like the ups and downs of a roller coaster than a gradual incline into the heavens.  If there are things we do not like about ourselves, they will become transparent in our dealings with one another.  If you take a moment to think about it, I think you will see this evidence all around you.  Our insecurities are the building blocks to turmoil and imbalance in all our relationships.  Again, this is why a personal relationship with God is of the utmost importance.  That relationship draws attention to those insecurities and allows us to give them to God.  Within this relationship to the Creator, we are able to find balance if we desire to.  If the world around you seems to be in shambles, take a deep breathe and focus your attention inward for awhile.  

So far this morning I have spoken a lot about balance and I have been on a little bit of science kick lately but this week balance and science came together in an article I read.  CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research and they research and experiment matter.  It is home to the largest particle physics lab in the world.  There they use large particle accelerators to try to duplicate the creation of our universe.  Recently, they came to the conclusion that our universe shouldn’t be possible based on all their research, experiments and mathematical calculations.  Without getting too technical, they have come to the conclusion that there is complete symmetry between matter and antimatter and for a big bang to happen there must be some sort of imbalance.  Through all of their research, experiments and the most precise measuring techniques the most intelligent minds on the planet can conceive of, matter and antimatter are exactly balanced (see article here).  Of course, they will continue their research to find the nature of this balance and someday they may find it but for them to admit that our universe should not exist has some theological implications.  Even if they can eventually explain the nature of this balance and symmetry, it still points to a purposeful design.  

I share that blurb with you to stress this importance of balance.  God said to Moses, “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”  Balance.  And this balance is really only possible if our own person is balanced.  Otherwise, we will always be tipping the scales one way or the other.  If you find that balance in your life is difficult, give it to God and then do something about it.  Seek out ways to find help.  This brings me to the title of today’s sermon... When I told Cheyanne the title, she gave me a befuddled look, understandably.  The scripture for this morning says, “I am holy” once and “I am the Lord” twice.  When Moses asked God who He was in Exodus 3, God answered, “I am who I am.”  This begs the question, who are you?  If we desire any sort of balance in life we must answer that question.  Who are you?  And what happens if we do not like the answer?  Give it to God and seek out support to help find that balance.  

The most brilliant minds on the planet have come to the conclusion that matter and antimatter have a perfect balance so no matter what you believe when it comes to the creation of our universe, that balance exists and extends beyond the reaches of the universe.  That in itself is hope enough to get us motivated to look for it.  Loving our neighbor isn’t enough... We are called to love our neighbor as ourself.  For most of us this means we must increase our love for self.  This goes without saying there are parameters here.  Of course, one can take this too far.  Balance.  God is the Creator of balance, perfect symmetry.  Therefore, He is the only place to find it.  Knowing and better understanding this balance, how will you approach the upcoming week?  Who. Are. You?  No matter the answer you come to, know that God loves you.  He is there and wants, so badly, to help you find this balance.