God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them
-Genesis-

God is Love
-1 John-

You are loved. You are loving. You are lovely. You are lovable.

You know yourself, and you know how easy it is to argue with flat-out statements like this. Or to regret, or wish for, or hope for…but then to just leave those hopes in the distant future.

Humor me…no, love me…no, love yourself enough to not argue and just consider, with me.

You are loved. You are loving. You are lovely. You are lovable.

What would this day be like? What would you do? How would you think,  if this was already true? Not blithely pretending everything is happy; there is much sadness in the world that cannot just be hurriedly covered over. But who you are, loved, is a response and a light for that sadness. What would you do, if you knew you were loved?

What would you do, if you knew we all were loved?

Can you always do better? You can probably answer that better than I can.

Is being loved like this an excuse, a get-out-of-jail-free card for what you’ve done wrong, the hurt you?’e been a part of in others’ lives? Is it that same excuse for those who have wronged you?

Never.

Being loved…no, more than that: being what happens because Love is real, being the effect of the existence of Love, means you were made to see the establishment of this assurance of love for all. You have the capacity to heal and erase the divides that try to separate you from your best sense of who you are. You are able to be a part of that healing for others, too, because they, too, are loved like you.

And you were made to recognize them as loved, loving, lovable, lovely as well.

The alders bend over the streams to shake out their tresses in the water-mirrors; let mortals bow before the creator, and, looking through Love’s transparency, behold man in God’s own image and likeness, arranging in the beauty of holiness each budding thought.
-Mary Baker Eddy-