“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

– Galatians 5:14 (NIV)

 

Daily Meditation: Galatians 5, Matthew 5:43-48

God tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself,” but what if we don’t even like ourselves? Maybe that’s because of some annoying physical characteristic; a challenging relational situation at work, in our family, or with a friend; regret over a past mistake; or sadness about the gap between where we are and where we thought we’d be at this point in life. Maybe we just don’t feel as though we’re worth anything. Maybe we play the comparison game, looking at other people and envying their “perfect” lives. But what if you saw yourself the way God sees you? When He looks at you, He sees His beautiful daughter, someone worth dying for!

 

That’s right. Stop being so hard on yourself! Stop being so critical of God’s creation! Remember who you are because of whose you are. Take time to accept God’s love and affection for you. Forgive yourself if you need to, but focus on receiving the limitless love He has for you. Recognize your value in the eyes of God. Let yourself be loved. God loved you so much He went to Calvary for you.

 

His love for us is beyond anything we can fathom, and because of that, we can start learning to love ourselves; not pridefully, but in humility, recognizing and internalizing the incredible love we’ve been given. We must accept His love for us and let that love seep into every nook and cranny of our lives. Then it will inevitably and unashamedly overflow into the lives of those around us.

 

 “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred,

loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ

and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

–  C. S. Lewis

 

The truth is, we can only love to the degree that we know we are loved. Loving others will flow out as a result. We cannot pour from an empty cup. However, when we allow our cup to keep being filled by God’s unlimited love and strength, we are able to pour into others without running empty ourselves. So go ahead, fill ’er up!

 

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Let’s let 2019 be the year we grow closer to the Lord and become the fearless, strong, and faithful woman we are meant to be in Him! In Be Fearless, Julie Clinton provides a scripturally-sound guide for finding freedom, purpose, joy… and fearlessness.  Be Fearless is now available in our store! https://www.aacc.net/product/be-fearless/ Consider working through Be Fearless with another extraordinary woman or group this year!

 

 

 

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Julie Clinton, MAd, MBA, is president of Extraordinary Women and host of EWomen conferences all across America. She is the author of several books including A Woman’s Path to Emotional Freedom, 10 Things You Aren’t Telling Him, and Extraordinary Women. She is passionate about seeing women live out their dreams by finding their freedom in Christ. Julie and her husband, Tim, live in Virginia with their children, Megan and Zach.