Let's Talk About Loving Yourself – Mark 12:31

Let’s talk about loving yourself.
Weeks ago I got into a car accident.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt and insurance covered our car,
but I was furious with myself for getting into the accident.
My husband repeatedly said, ‘Accidents happen and they’re out of our control.’
Sounds reasonable right?
Then why, six weeks later, was I still beating myself up over it?
Because I wasn’t loving myself…at all.
Sometimes, it’s easier for me to show grace for others than it is for myself.
Mark 12:31 says “The second [commandment] is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
But, if you don’t love yourself, how in the world are you going to love the people around you?
Not to mention, loving others is going to be forced rather than genuine.
And as you probably know, the root of so many people’s pain is a lack of love for themselves.
So first, I encourage you to check in on yourself.
Are you your own worst critic? Or biggest supporter?
Do you see yourself the way Jesus sees you?
I had to remind myself of these truths today.
He sees me as righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24), a vessel of divine light (2 Corinthians 4:6),
a victor (Romans 8:37), designed for good works (Ephesians 2:10)…and the list goes on.
Second, if you’re heavy today about something that happened beyond your control,
or something you’ve made right but still feel guilty about,
I’ve got some good news.
I want to tell you that there is overflowing grace with God who
wants you to know you’re never too far gone to come to Him.
I want to tell you that new mercies rise like the morning sun.
And finally, I want to tell you to let those regrets go.
Cheers,
Hey — I wrote a book about all of this.
Living Open-Handed is the devotional I wrote during a season when I really needed to hear these words myself. If you're in a place where you need to be encouraged by scripture and softened by grace, it might be for you too.
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