“One
of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing
that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of
all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The
second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)
Some of the strongest faithful people I know are in
recovery from alcohol/drug addiction. They are faithful because many of them
know that all they have to depend upon is their faith in God to keep them sober
one day at a time. The shame of being addicted to drugs and the awareness that
they must admit it to be healed, strips away the pretenses and falseness the
rest of us hold on to.
All of us can benefit from understanding the key lessons
about healing that I have learned from my friends in recovery. They are based
on great teachings from the Bible. The first lesson is: In order to have a full connection with God and others we must allow
ourselves to be real, and honest about our strengths AND our weaknesses. I
believe that is the reason God calls us to confess our sins openly in worship.
Our connection with God and others is hampered when we pretend we are perfect
and don’t humble ourselves before God and our neighbors.
The 12 step programs are famous for the way they demand
humbleness in their introductions at meetings: “Hi, I’m Jane Doe, and I am an
alcoholic.” Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith, founders of the 12 step program Alcoholics
Anonymous, understood that being vulnerable, humble, and honest about the illness
of addiction was the first step to healing. They based their immensely
successful program on having a connection to God (higher power) and to others
in the recovery process.
This leads to the second lesson I have learned about
healing from my friends in recovery. Healing
doesn’t happen independently. Deep lasting healing requires connection to
others, and that requires believing one is worthy of being healed, worthy of
being loved, and having a sense of belonging. These key lessons are found in
the first and second commandments which contain the formula for deep healing: “To love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength.” And the second: “To love your neighbor as yourself.”
These incorporate dependence and faith in
God to heal, plus the added ingredients of believing yourself to be loveable
while sharing that love with others.
During this cold winter flu season, may we all focus on
boosting our immune systems and connecting with others through the healing
formula that Jesus provides in the two most important commandments. Love is the
most important healing medicine of all!
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