Love Your Neighborنموونە

Experiencing God’s Love

In the second commandment, Jesus said we should love others as we love ourselves. He appealed to our innate sense of self-preservation and the human instinct to prioritize our own needs and desires. But Jesus’s comparison also reveals a profound truth: how we see and treat ourselves directly impacts how we see and treat others.

It can be challenging to love others well if we haven’t fully experienced God’s love ourselves. Many of us experience insecurity, rejection, self-hatred, and shame. The enemy works tirelessly to distort our view of ourselves because he knows that people who walk in the truth of God’s love are free to love others selflessly and powerfully.

Loving ourselves isn’t about arrogance or selfishness—it’s about seeing ourselves as God sees us: fearfully and wonderfully made, chosen and dearly loved, and created with purpose. It starts with allowing him to remind us who we are and all the reasons we are worthy and valuable in his eyes. His love reshapes our identity, helping us to let go of the lies we’ve believed and embrace the truth of our worth in Christ.

As we receive God’s love, it overflows into our relationships. When we understand grace, we extend grace. When we experience forgiveness, we freely forgive. When we know the depth of his mercy, we become merciful. Loving our neighbors isn’t about striving—it’s about abiding in the love of Christ, allowing it to transform us from the inside out. As we grow in that love, we find ourselves better equipped to love others—not out of obligation but out of the overflow of a heart that knows it is cherished by God.

Take a moment to ask God how he sees you.

Lord, help me understand my belovedness. Help me to know your love and experience it for myself. Reveal to me all the ways you love me. Amen.