Below is an excerpt from We’re Still In This, written by Susan Goss. This book was carefully crafted with you in mind – to bring you practical tips and life-changing encouragement for any relationship.
The second great commandment is this: “Love others in the same way you love yourself.”
Mark 12:31 The Voice
Who’s your neighbor? God says everyone is. “The central truth – the one you have heard since the beginning of your faith – is that we must love one another” (1 John 3:11 The Voice). But did you catch in the above Scripture, we are not only to love others… but love others in the same way we love ourselves.
First, we must know and believe that God loves us so that we can then love others. ”We love because He has first loved us” (1 John 4:19 The Voice). Next, through knowing and believing God’s love for us, we are able to then love each other deeply and fully as Jesus has loved us. “So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways” (John 13:34 The Voice). Finally, just think about how you would love your neighbor better if you had a healthy love for yourself.
Yes, we are called to love others, but you cannot stop there – we are to love others in the same way we love ourselves. Loving our neighbor will not always be easy because our neighbors are imperfect people, as are we. God is the connector that loves through us. We love because He has first loved us.
Tangible Takeaway:
We love because He has first loved us.
1 John 4:19 The Voice
This powerful yet simple truth is paramount to living out our faith.
So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways.
John 13:34 The Voice
Do you demonstrate your love for others without judgment and meet people where they are like Jesus did?
The second great commandment is this: Love others in the same way you love yourself.
Mark 12:31 The Voice