Loving Others as Ourselves

         “‘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.’”(Mark 12:29-31, NIV).

            For the past few years, I’ve recited these verses, and the more I repeat these commandments, the more insight the Spirit seems to give me. I understand that we are to love God and love others. From reading the two greatest commandments, I’m sure everyone gets that fact, but many times, I think we overlook the two words “as yourself.”

            God hasn’t just called us to love our neighbors any such way. He has commanded us to love them as we love ourselves, but what if you love yourself incorrectly? Can you truly love your neighbor well?

            I mean, if I don’t believe that I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) how can I love others as fearfully and wonderfully made. If I criticize my body when I look in the mirror, how much easier is it going to be to criticize the girl I meet on the street? If I don’t see myself as a valuable human being who is loved by God completely, how will I ever see others that way? If I constantly put on “Rebecca glasses” to view myself and define myself, can I biblically love someone?

            So many times, I think we fail at loving others because we haven’t accepted the love we’ve been offered. We feel unworthy, so we don’t know how to love like God loves. As my pastor often says, “If we want to love others as ourselves, we need to first love ourselves correctly.”

            God tells me that I am beloved, set apart, a child of God, a coheir with Christ, beautiful, known, forgiven, and valuable. Dig into the Word of God and find out what He says about you and how deeply He loves you.

His love will change you, and it will change how you love people.

Living Life Together,

Rebecca Thomas