Overcoming Negative Body ImageНамуна

Deeply Loved to Love Ourselves and Others

Luke 20:27 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’”. The degree to which we love others is related to our ability to love ourselves. And our ability to love ourselves is related to our ability to love God and understand who He truly is.

It’s an entire progression. When we receive God’s love, we are able to love Him in return. And when we embrace His love and love ourselves, we are freed up to extend His love to others. But sometimes we don’t love ourselves, or even like ourselves. Sometimes we hate or dislike aspects of ourselves, including our bodies. We may feel broken. We may have negative body image. We may feel hurt. Perhaps we’ve been ridiculed, bullied, rejected, or ignored. As we try to cope with our pain, we damage ourselves. We eat or drink too much or do things to try to prove that we are worth loving. We medicate our hurt in many different ways, inhibiting our personal growth, furthering the felt distance we may already be experiencing between God and other people.

The good news is there’s another option. There’s a way out. By identifying and working through the lies, hurt, and negative experiences we have weathered, we can begin to deeply experience love and acceptance. We can begin to see God for who He truly is. The Bible tells us that God is love and that He showed how much He loved us by sending His only Son into the world so we might have eternal life. The Bible also says God is “rich in mercy” and deeply loves us (Ephesians 2:4). When we experience God’s love in the places we have been hurt, and challenge the lies, we can begin to see ourselves as God sees us. Healing takes time, but it is possible as we seek to grow closer to God and by spending time with others who deeply love Him and us.

God desires that we would honor Him with our bodies. As part of the new covenant, our bodies are now the places in which He dwells. He wants to use us as His ambassadors. As we heal from our hurt and overcome the lies, we will find ourselves becoming more effective stewards of our minds and bodies, helping us become more effective ambassadors for Him on this earth.

Jesus, I want to follow Your commands. Help me heal and experience Your love for me. Amen.

For more help, resources, and prayer, check out resolutionmovement.org.