This Valentine’s Day, I was thinking about love.
When asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 28-31)
I think that’s pretty cool.
But I was just thinking, what if you don’t love yourself? What if you don’t even like yourself? What if you judge yourself harshly, think you’re too thin or too fat, think you talk too little or too much, think you do everything wrong? And if you think of yourself in such a critical way, how might that reflect on how you think of your neighbor?
Perhaps, to truly love your neighbor, you need to first learn to love yourself as Christ loves you.
So just how much does Christ love you, anyway?
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
I wonder if it’s possible for me to love anyone so much that I would sacrifice my son. I don’t think so.
Wow.
Anyway… that’s what I was thinking.
What do you think? Have you ever had trouble loving yourself? Leave a comment and let me know.
Certainly the right question for me today (though I know you posted it several days ago). This thought has run into my mind during these first couple months into my marriage as I try to figure out how to love my husband right. I’m realizing that my own dislike of myself often gets in the way. If i don’t believe I’m very lovable, it hinders my believing my husband when HE say’s he loves me. It also hinders my believing God saying He loves me. And only when I believe these things from the two in my life who truly love me most will I be able to love right (“Love believes all things…” 1 Cor. 13). Thanks for the thoughts! 🙂
You’re welcome, Nadine! Ahh… yeah. I have that same problem with my husband. He’s always telling me how much he loves me. And that low self-esteem monster in me keeps trying to convince me it’s not possible. 🙁 I know better, though! But re-training my brain is tough work and takes time.
Congrats on your marriage! Brad and I are reading two books right now that are fun and that are helping us connect on different things after fourteen years of being married. (That sounds like such a long time! I’m getting old! LOL) One is Closer by Jim and Cathy Burns and Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Leman. So far, both are pretty good.
We were given Sheet Music as a gift before our wedding. It’s been pretty good so far, though I think I read bits of it more than my husband does. I’d love to look into Closer. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Jim and Cathy Burns. Another book that I’ve found immensely helpful, insightful, and encouraging is Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas.