Love Yourself.....and Then You Can Love Your Neighbor

It is amazing how many times we are told to love our neighbor as we love ourselves! Moses gave it as law and Jesus (Yeshua) gives it to us as a commandment. Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV), 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew, Mark and Luke all recounted Jesus (Yeshua) saying this to the Pharisees and Paul tells us the same thing in Romans and Galatians. And last but not least, James had his say about it too. Wow!! Loving your neighbor as you love yourself went from being one of the many laws in Leviticus 19, to being the second greatest commandment given to man. But what I think many of us have missed is the part that is in between loving God and loving our neighbor. The part that says, “We have to Love Ourselves.”

Before I go any further with this, I want to define neighbor so that we are on the same page. In Luke 10, Jesus (Yeshua) teaches us through the story of the Good Samaritan that all the world are neighbors. This frees us up so that we are not boxed into thinking that this command only applies to the people next door or down the street. It is the person at the checkout, the drive through, the doctor’s office, the nail salon and any of the many places we travel in our daily lives. It is that hard to get along with boss, and back stabbing coworker you dread having to see each day. It really is anyone who comes your way.

Love is the most talked about subject in the Bible. Why? Because God is love and when we sit down and explore God’s love you see that it resembles nothing the world portrays. For one, the world tells you that sex is love. In so many cases, people should just tell each other, “I really lust you!” Instead of, “I love you.” It would be a more truthful and accurate explanation of the emotions they are feeling. The world’s definition of Love is: It’s an emotion or feeling. This is why so many women and children are heartbroken, because men have walked away from their wives, girlfriends and children, because they equate their love on how they feel…Don’t love you anymore, moving on! But God’s LOVE is an action word. God’s LOVE is a commitment. God’s LOVE is never ending. So even if you breakup with the mother of your children you still make sure they are provided for, because you love them and care for them. If your husband walked away from you for another woman, you don’t hold your children hostage and not let them see him. Why? Because you love them and want the best for them. This is God’s LOVE. His LOVE shows you in the hardest of times it will still be there.

One of my favorite translations to read love in is the Amplified Bible. I love it, I love it….I LOVE it!! If you don’t have that translation please go to Biblegateway.com and read I Corinthians 13: 4-8a. It spells out how we are to love others as we walk in the love of our Lord!! But one thing I see in women is that we often have so much baggage from the past that has convinced us that we are not worthy of love, we end up walking through life with an underlying self-hatred. And that is what I want to take a look at today.

Not to long ago I was having a conversation with a woman in her 40’s and she made the statement that she didn’t like women, and she got along much better with men. How very sad. And the reason I’m saying that is because, she is a woman. So what is she really saying? The truth, she really didn’t like herself. How can you not like women, when you are a woman and still like yourself? You can’t. This is a mindset that will also hinder you from loving others (your neighbor).

If you are a person who has came from an abusive background, (especially a constant barrage of verbal abuse and insults), and suffer from low self-esteem…..You are fat! You’re stupid! You’re ugly and no one in the right mind will want you! You’re worthless! You’re useless! You are nothing and you will never be anything! And with each fiery dart that hit your mind and your heart eventually you began to believe all the mean and hurtful words. Is it possible to love others if you still believe the lies that you were told about yourself?

When you were rejected by the man who impregnated you, only to see him marry someone else and build a better life for her and her children (not his children, but her children). How can you love your neighbor when you feel so betrayed and unloved?

Though the bruises and broken bones have healed, and the scars that once ravished your body are no longer visible to the naked eye, and you look okay on the outside, but inside you’re still a broken and battered woman from the beatings and verbal insults you endured for years. How can you love your neighbor when you still hear the words that described you as trash, everyday?

You’ve struggled with your weight since you were a young child. Your teen years were hell as the fat girl! Especially if you grew up in a time where there were no attractive or stylish clothing for plus sized people. You still remember the nasty and cruel names the other kids called you, and how you really didn’t have friends. So your loneliness caused you to eat more, and food became your friend. As a woman you are still overweight and feel unattractive. You might be single, you may be married, but the feelings of low self-esteem still control your life. How are you able to love your neighbor when you don’t love who you are?

As followers of Jesus (Yeshua) and His disciples, how can we love others with the I Corinthians love when we find it so hard to love ourselves? The answer is, “We can’t and we don’t.”

Sisters, it is time to stand up and begin to deal with any issues in our lives that hinder us from loving ourselves and prevent us from seeing the beautiful woman that God does. Back in the 70’s there was a saying “Love Fest” let’s rise up and start having a “Love Fest” with ourselves. The first and most crucial step is that you make the decision right now, that you are lovable and worthy of love. Why? Because that is what God says about you!! And He rules! Not the mirror, not your husband, not your friends, not your family, not what size clothing you wear, not the fashion magazines, not the numbers on the scale, not how many wrinkles or rolls of fat you have. What God says about us, should be all that matters.

Once you make the decision that you are who God says you are, then the next step is to search out the scriptures that will help change your heart so that you begin to believe it!! You might only need one verse that speaks to your heart to start with. If you are a person that grew up hearing how stupid you were and you find yourself repeating those words to yourself every time you make a mistake, then it is time to remember that the Bible says, “You have the mind of Christ.” So it is impossible for you to be stupid. If the tapes that you are worthless continue to play in your mind, then you should look where it says, “We sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.” That is a place that does not belong to everyone and for those of us that have been given that position through His precious blood; we can hardly be counted as worthless.

Do you suffer with feelings of being unloved and unlovable and even question God’s love for you? If so meditate on Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you.” What exactly does that mean? Search it out in the Bible until you see just what God’s everlasting love is and how it pertains to you. The One who shed the Blood that you were bought with is a good place to start.

Are you one that has low self-esteem because of your weight? Then start to say each day to yourself as you are getting dressed, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” Because that is what Psalm 139:14 says about you. I wish that I could give each of you a boost of the scripture that would help you to see the exact image you are in Christ (Yeshua), but it will go far better if you allow the Holy Spirit of God to show you through His Word exactly what you need. But the truth is that once you began to apply God’s version of who you are to yourself, you will also begin to see that His love and mercy is for all. And that’s the key as to how you can begin to love your neighbor as you love yourself. ~Smile~

Today is as good as any to start the journey of loving yourself more. There might be some tears shed as you look at those things that have kept you from understanding what it really means to be a new creature in our Lord. In many cases you are going to have to dish out big doses of forgiveness, so that you will no longer live in the prison of past hurts. But I can tell you from my own messed up life, that the healing power of the Blood of Jesus (Yeshua) is absolutely wonderful! It really does not matter how horrid a life you have had, you can be healed, you can forgive and you can be made whole, if you desire to be so.

My dear wonderful sisters, I pray that I have moved you to grab onto the Truths of who you really are as the Daughter of the Most High God!!! The position that you have in His Kingdom is far greater than anything this world can fathom or even attempt to offer you!! You are Blessed and highly favored, by the King of kings. You are the apple of a Father’s eye, which never sleeps and while you are sleeping He is thinking about and caring for you! Everything I just wrote is in the Bible; it’s all true because God’s Word says so. You are loved with a love that never fails!!

I want to offer the book “Beauty for Ashes” by Joyce Meyer, in a drawing this week. It is her story of how her father sexually abused her. But the greatest thing about it all is how God’s saving grace and wonderful love took that horrible pile of ashes (her life) and turned it into a thing of great beauty. If she could come to the place to forgive her father and mother for years of abuse, I feel no matter what has happened to you, you will be inspired by her testimony to let go and live.

My prayer for you today is that you have been inspired to believe God and what He says. You might have personally needed to read today’s blog or you might know someone who can benefit from what I have been inspired to write. If that is the case please pass this on to them, and pray for them.

I love you all dearly and I am always inspired by the words I write. It takes me back to where I have been and reminds me of how very far the Lord has brought me because of His love. I know what it is to be a broken and trashed person, but for God’s great love, my status is now one of Royalty, healed and whole, and that means everything.

To enter this weeks drawing send an email to: hope2win_bloggdrawings99@verizon.net, with your name, city and state. You have until Tuesday, November 10th, 6pm ET, USA to enter.

Blessings and Love to you all.
Ponnie