As You Love Yourself

1 John 4:19

We love because he first loved us.

Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus declared, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

These verses show the biblical progression of love: 

1. God loves us. 

We can only love out of God’s love for us. 

2. We must love God. 

Everything else stems from our love for God. 

3. We must love ourselves. 

Wait, what? 

4. We must love others.

We often focus on the command to love others (which is good!), but we sometimes fail to notice that our love for others has a contingency—we must love ourselves. 

So what does this even mean, biblically speaking?

To love ourselves means that our identity is built upon a deep knowing of who we are in Christ—a beloved child of God.

It means we have an understanding of God’s love for us and, therefore, a God-given ability to see ourselves through his eyes—which will determine our ability to see others through his eyes.

The way we see ourselves will be directly reflected in the way we see others,

which will directly affect the way we love others.

Remember from the passage last week about Lazarus that his sisters described him to Jesus as “the one you love.” Then John (as the author) did something very interesting—he not only validated that claim, but he included the sisters in it as well. He said, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” 

John, remember, was also the one who repeatedly described himself by that same phrase—”the one whom Jesus loved.” 

Here’s the point: when we truly understand God’s love for us, then we also understand his love for others. We’re not threatened by it; rather, we want everyone to know it!

We can extend God’s love to others when we’ve embraced God’s love for ourselves.

To love others as we love ourselves is the second most important commandment. It’s the mission of our lives. 

If we aren’t living it, we aren’t fully living.

Love God. 

Love people. 

Our purpose. Our mission. Our reason for existence.

Oh Lord, thank you, again, for your love for us. Help us to embrace that love so we can extend it to others. Amen.