There was a man who had a talk with God and it went like this: the man asked God to take away his habit. God said, “No, it is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.” Then he asked God to make his handicapped child whole. God said, “No, his spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.” The man asked God again to grant him patience. God answered, “No, patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is learned.” Then he asked Him to give him happiness. God said, “No, I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.” The man asked God again to spare him from pain. God replied, “No, suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me.” Then he asked Him to make his spirit grow. God said, “No, you must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.” Then he asked God for all things so that he might enjoy life. But God said, “No, I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.” Then for the last time he asked God again. “God, I ask you to help me love others as much as You love me.” God answered, “Ahh…finally, you have the idea.”

The story above, you may say, is just another good story; but it shows some lessons that God wants us to learn. One of these is, when something untoward occurs, it is not because God wants us to hate or blame ourselves but because everything happens for a reason. We may not like it at first because it seems so cruel but if we will use our eyes of faith, we will see that there’s something good that is being done within us, and that is the honing of our character. In the end, we will realize that everything occurs for our own good.

Another thing is that we must realize that we cannot really love others unless we learn to love ourselves. We will not be able to give what we do not have. In Section 5.13 of Book of Hope , Jesus tells of one of the two greatest commandments. We will not be able to comprehend this until we learn to love ourselves.