Loved

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: “‘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.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22: 35-40

It seemed apropos to explore some aspect of love today, even though Valentine's Day has never been a very big deal to me.  Over breakfast I began thinking about what I would post tonight and these verses popped into my mind.  I tried to ignore them at first, but all day long I kept coming back to this single thought: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

It is a pretty radical verse, one that is the epitome of Jesus' teaching.  But a few years ago, I heard it preached in a different way and I wish I could remember the speaker and the event to give them credit, but I can't.  Perhaps more importantly, though, I have looked at this verse, and myself, differently ever since.  The point was that in order to follow Jesus' teaching and love your neighbor as yourself, you have to first love yourself.

Let me let that sink in a bit.

Sometimes the hardest person to love is ourselves, especially for women.  It's easier to focus on our flaws. It's easier to say- "My hair is weird" or "I'm fat" or "Nobody loves me on Valentine's Day" or "I'm a bad wife/sister/mom/friend" or  whatever it is you say to yourself to beat yourself up.

But you are a child of God, a uniquely created being. There will never be another you. God knows the number of hairs on your head and he loves you beyond measure.

"This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us." 1 John 4:10
"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

So today, no matter what your relationship status or your feelings toward Valentine's Day, remember that you are loved and remember to love yourself.  If you have that straight in your mind, you are so much better equipped to go and love your neighbors.

What are some ways you show yourself love?  Today, I stopped letting Singles Awareness Day affect my mood by reminding myself of this post I had been pre-composing in my head. It helped me to remember my value and in turn was able to eat a healthy meal at home for dinner as planned, instead of making a rash stop for junk food on the way home. Oh, and I've also been reading over a pretty sweet list written yesterday by my best friend that lists 101 reasons why she loves me.  That's helped too :)