#AffirmationMonday: Love Yourself (Part 4)
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" (Matthew 18:12)
How many of you are or have been in a relationship? Who pursued whom? Now how many of you didn’t like your mate at first? If we were to tell the truth, sometimes love isn’t always instant. Cupid doesn’t go around shooting off love arrows, there’s no such thing as love potion and you didn’t know immediately that he or she was “the one”. But they hung around. They took you out for dinner. Checked on you at work. Brought you takeout when you weren’t feeling well. Showed affection at those moments you needed it the most. Suddenly, they started looking different. You began to wonder if it was the light but suddenly they looked cuter/more handsome than they looked before. They stopped annoying you so much. And before you knew it, they had opened your heart in such a way that you wondered what life was like before them.
That’s like God. We date God, and although He seems nice, it feels like we can live without Him. But once we’ve dated Him, He’s there for the long haul. When we get fired from our job, we can lean on Him for understanding and guidance. When we get sick, we can pray to Him for healing and direction. And when we feel lonely, He showers us with a love that no one else can give. After a while, God begins to look different. His care and actions have made Him look “cuter”. We no longer see Him as the temporary excursion you make on Sundays. We want to spend more time with Him, reading His word and spending moments in prayer. And before you know it you’ve fallen in love.
The Word of God says that God will relentlessly pursue even one lost soul (Matthew 18:12). As we round out the month of February, understand that God loves you so much that He won’t give up on you. You are free to love yourself because you are worthy of God's love. Let go of your past, present and future expectations of yourself and learn to cherish the strong, beautiful and extremely blessed person you are. This world right now needs the person you were created to be!
Affirmation for the Day
I can relentlessly love myself because I have been pursued by Christ.
This wraps up this month’s #AffirmationMonday series, “Love Yourself”. If you haven’t read the others, go back and read part 1, 2, and 3 here. Also, I’m including a video that I love that talks about the reckless love God has for us (so enjoy). And if this has blessed you then pass it on and be a blessing to someone else. Until the next time!