To be loved and be lovable

   Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39, New King James Version)

When I sat down to write this blog post last night, Hubby and I had just finished watching the movie “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” Having no other solid ideas of what to write about, I thought I would just grab on to the philosophy of dear ol’ Mr. Rogers.

Here are some of his quotes I found online.

During a CNN interview. “I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there’s some way of using this fabulous instrument to nurture those who would watch and listen.” (Wouldn’t it be great if everyone on TV today believed this!)

On the Value of Life, which seems to be taken for granted by so many these days. “As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has–or ever will have–something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.”

On loving others, because isn’t that what life should really be about? “You know, I think everybody longs to be loved, and longs to know that he or she is lovable. And, consequently, the greatest thing that we can do is to help somebody know that they’re loved and capable of loving.”

Though he was an ordained Presbyterian minister, Mr. Rogers realized that the best way to teach people about the love of God was to live it. In this messed up world we live in today, people are turning away from religion for many reasons. But I am sure that one reason is that many of the Christian leaders we see in the media are doing anything but showing love for one another. (But that whole discussion would lead me right down a rabbit hole.) 

The movie “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” did come out just over a year ago, so it’s actually astonishing that I saw it already. (The only newly released movies I see are the comic book hero movies that Hubby has to watch.) Here’s the thing though, something I just found out when I was looking up facts on Fred Rogers. His wife, Joanne, passed away on January 14 of this year. I don’t know why that stands out to me. Except that God chose now for me to watch the movie.

Dear God, send more people like Mr. Rogers into this world, people who are true believers, who value human life and are willing to love unconditionally, who are an example of what it means to be Your child. Amen.

Oh, and also in the movie, Mr. Rogers asks the journalist who is interviewing him if he had a favorite toy or stuffed animal when he was a child. This would be mine. Have a good week. Chris