Lesson for the Week

No Greater Love
(01/22/09)

The other day I had a conversation with a friend about love; specifically about loving yourself. So many people have told her, myself included, that you cannot love others unless you love yourself first. Galatians 5:14 puts it very plainly: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (NIV, emphasis mine). She was having trouble dealing with that because she felt she could so easily show love to others, but yet not show love to herself. I think a lot of us have fallen into that trap. We can bless others, but when it comes to ourselves, we don’t feel worthy of that kind of time and attention. Now, the specific ways in which we show love to ourselves may be different for each individual, but the basic principle remains the same for us all. We cannot love ourselves until we truly accept God’s love for us. We’ve accepted that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but we didn’t take the time to accept and understand the love behind that sacrifice. How much did God have to love you in order for that to happen? Think about this. If you knew that in order for your daughter to go to heaven you would have to sacrifice your son, would you do it? I’ve thought about this question a lot since I became a parent; and I’ve prayed that I would never have to make such a choice. But God did, and he made that choice long before the world began. He knew what he would be up against, and he loved us so much, that he was willing to let His son die in our place. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, NIV) I believe the first step in loving yourself is not only accepting the sacrifice, but accepting the love that went with it. Once you’ve done that, ask God to help you see yourself through His eyes. As you go on this journey with Him, you will learn to live His love; and there is no greater way to live.