By: Jessica Huber

Mark 12:30-31
30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

If You know Who you are In Christ, then the second portion of this scripture makes perfect sense.

As yourself hmmmm

We can not reflect what we do not know.

Many do Not Love who they are at all, in fact we have some real self loathing going on. We allow our past to create the internal image. We hold onto regret, shame, fear, resentment, pain, anger, jealousy, and failures. We hold them up and we look into them as if we are looking into a mirror. It distorts the way we see ourselves as well as the way we view the people around us.

The perception of the outside begins to reflect the ugly that’s held within.
So many times we are staring right into a pool of deception, we look to the world to become our mirror. In reality what the world determines as beautiful, will soon perish.
Are we seriously letting the perishable guide our self worth?

We allow ourselves to believe that our worth is found in possessions and people. We even base our worth on our struggles. Let me tell you no one is without a struggle! Everyone has them. But they do not need to define us.

The world would rather encourage us to stay under the control of our weaknesses.
It passes out the labels and we accept them proudly.
We wear them around like name tags.
Hello I am …

We would rather proclaim these labels on ourselves, rather than Claiming The Name JESUS CHRIST over our lives!
So if this is how we look at ourselves, how can we love a neighbor as ourselves. How do we treat people kindly if we can’t even treat ourselves with love and respect? How do we tell people that God loves them if we do not even believe that His Love applies to us as well.

In order to project love we have to first receive Love. To know the Father’s love is to Trust it! We are Loved regardless of our ugly past, we are Loved regardless of our ugly mistakes, and we are Loved despite our present blemishes inside and out.

No you are not a label of the world!

You are a child of The King of Kings, The Lord of lords.
The One Who Can make ALL things New! The One who has wiped your past clean and remembers it no more. Your Lord is the one who restores the broken and projects them into victory!

You Are His if you want to be. The choice is yours! What label will you be putting on today? What will follow after The I AM…
or maybe I should say Who will follow after The Great I AM?

Ephesians 3:19
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

We are to be filled with His Love and overflowing so that we can share it with others.
Will we allow ourselves to receive it?
Will we soak in a love that is pure and true?
Will we hold it up and look into The Face of Christ?

1 John 4:4
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Will we allow God to determine our worth or will we let the world decide?

Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

What have you been reflecting onto your neighbors? Are you passing out the labels that you have accepted?

The Word of God says that You are Holy righteous and redeemed, you are cherished and treasured.
Accept That! Reflect That!

 

1 John 4:16
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Ephesians
1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Get to know Our Lord and Savior. He will Show You who you are as you become acquainted with His Love.
He will guide your steps towards His Will.
To be self controlled is to be God Guided! The only way to truly know your full purpose and your potential is to receive it through His direction.

Psalm 143:8
Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.

2 Thessalonians 3:5
May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.