Selfcare through Self-Love

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Selfcare”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Selfcare through Self-love”

Do you love yourself? Many people don’t. Many people are deeply disappointed and unhappy with themselves, sometimes even to the point of hating themselves. They feel unworthy. Some even have the tragic belief that they are being very spiritual by thinking poorly of themselves. “I’m just a sinner, a miserable worm, I’m completely unworthy.”

But is that Biblical? Well, not according to the Bible it isn’t. It is true that without Christ we are lost in our sins and completely unworthy before God (Romans 3:23). But it’s also true that He loves each person deeply and longs for us to come to Him through faith in Christ (2 Peter 3:9); and it’s true that once we do place our faith in Christ our sins are washed away and we become a new spiritual creation (2 Corinthians 5:17); and at that time we are adopted into the Father’s family, becoming one of His precious and much-loved children (Romans 8:15); and the Holy Spirit then begins molding and shaping us more-and-more into the image of Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23).

The truth is that you are loved by God and therefore you should be loved by you. In God’s eyes you are a masterpiece of perfection because you come to Him through His perfect Son Jesus.

But still, we struggle with our self-image. The enemy whispers lies to us about ourselves and we believe him. In 1969 the late Dr. Robert Schuller wrote a book with the title: “Self-Love”. It became a bestseller. In it he argued that because God loves you, you should love yourself and if you don’t learn to love yourself you will end up being your own worst enemy.

Bob Buford wrote about that as well in his excellent book “Half Time,” “The well-intentioned (and biblically correct) doctrine of depravity is not the whole story. Without God we are, indeed, in need of “amazing grace,” but once we are transformed by his grace, we become new, beautiful, and valuable creatures capable of self-love …”

Learning to love yourself is not narcissistic. God loves you and He wants you to love yourself. He has created you anew in Christ; you are His highest form of creation; and the Holy Spirit is progressively building into you the attributes and likeness of Christ.

Tomorrow I will tell you a story about a man who was at one time a gutter-crawling drunk with no self-esteem but who went from that to being one of the most successful self-help authors of all time. The change in his life came when he accepted the love of God for him, and then learned he could love himself because he was loved by God. One of the most important things we can do for good selfcare is to learn to love ourselves.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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