Look In: Love Yourself
Notes
Transcript
August 20/23, 2020
Dominant Thought: You will love your neighbor as yourself when you see yourself as God sees you.
Objectives:
• I want my listeners to understand that we are loved by God even when we don’t think so.
• I want my listeners to write down something that irritates them and something that brings them joy.
• I want my listeners to connect how we love ourselves with how we love our neighbor.
This series began with an insight I heard from Shane Wood, professor at Ozark Christian College. Michael Hinnen, our associate minister, and I were in a seminar on the Enneagram when Shane shared the insight from the greatest commands found in Matthew 22.34-40.
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Shane highlighted the two comparison words, “like” and “as.” For those who can remember your English grammar, Jesus is comparing these three loves: God, others, and self by using similes.
For example, we could say, “you can hit a baseball like…Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth.” That means you can hit the baseball really good. If we say, “You’re as fast as…a cheetah.” Then, that means you’re really fast. If we say, “You’re as fast as a sloth.” Then, you are really slow.
Jesus is comparing our love for our neighbor is like our love for God. And, we should love our neighbor in the same way that we love ourselves. Michael did a great job reminding us last week to picture ourselves as the one in the ditch dying, and not just the ones walking by him.
In giving this second command, Jesus compares our love for neighbor to how we love ourselves. In Leviticus 19, we find the foundation for this comparison.
“ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
“You shall love your neighbor AS yourself.”
A couple of weeks ago, Alex Follet from Ozark Christian College did a fine job reminding us to Look Up and Love God when he said, “In order to love God fully, we must see God clearly” (Alex Follet).
Last week, Michael taught us to Look Out and Love Others with the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10. Michael reminded us, “When the cross is always before us, we can see the needs all around us.”
Today, I want to share on the third look, Look In: Love Yourself.
Dominant Thought: You will love your neighbor as yourself when you see yourself as God sees you.
We live in a world full of hurting people. We live in a world where we cannot find that healthy view of self. Either we tend to one of two poles: 1) We either think too much of ourselves. Or 2) We think too little of ourselves.
In our time today, I want us to spend time looking inside and see if we can see what God sees. If we can gain a healthier view of ourselves, then I am confident that it will lead us to healthier relationship with God and others.
First, It’s hard to love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself. Said in a positive way, “If you love yourself, then you’ll love your neighbor.”
Let’s be honest. We are our worst critics. I wonder how many conversations I have with myself everyday. I wonder how many times those conversations are positive and encouraging and how many are demeaning and defeating?
I can remember playing basketball in college in pickup games in the afternoons. I would get so mad at myself after every missed shot. Then, one day one of my friends, Mike came up to me and said, “It doesn’t look like you’re having any fun out there. You are upset with yourself. It’s a game. Have fun.” I’m thankful that he loved me enough to speak those words into my life.
Cindy Bunch recently published a book entitled, Be Kind To Yourself. I listened to her on a podcast with Nathan Foster. She encourages you to offer compassion to yourself as you would to others. Self-compassion helps create compassion for others.
She encourages people each day to write down two things. Write down one thing that bugged you that day. And, then, write down one thing that brought you joy. She says that over time you will see patterns. Some of the things that really bug you are out of your control so you will need to find ways to cope. The things that bring you joy will bring life into your soul.
It has been said, “hurting people hurt people.” I believe the opposite could then be true, too. Loving people love people.
Second, It’s hard to love yourself if you don’t know God loves you. Said in a positive way, “If you know God loves you, then you’ll love yourself.”
This season of COVID has brought with it an emotional and mental pandemic that if left unchecked could be just as deadly for years to come. Because of isolation and fear, people are dealing with depression and anxiety like never before.
I had the opportunity to talk with Tom Ewald, longtime professor at Lincoln Christian University in preparation for this message. He reminded me that one of the best therapies for someone who battles depression is for a friend to spend time and listen to their struggles.
He also reminded me that God loves differently than we love. We love things and experiences that are pleasant. I love a beautiful sunset, seeing the stars on a clear night, and my wife’s blue eyes. We love things that make us happy and bring us joy. I don’t love it when my car breaks down or when the bath tub won’t drain or when the internet flakes out. I don’t love trouble, pain, or annoying experiences.
However, God’s love is different. He loves things that are unlovable. He loves people who offend Him, run His name in the mud, and cheat on Him. He loves the broken and battered, the tired and tattered. He loves giving second and third chances.
True there will come a day when God will bring judgment on sin and His wrath will be poured out.
But God still loves picking us up when we fall, welcoming us when we come home, loving us when we don’t know if we love ourselves. God’s love is unfailing and unconditional.
Love is not a feeling but and action.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
One summer when I was on camp team for Ozark Christian College, I read through Philip Yancey’s book, What’s So Amazing About Grace. In the book, he writes, “Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more... And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less... Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.”
When I read those words, I felt a burden lifted from my chest and understood that God really loved me and wasn’t always mad at me. It was a defining moment for me as I read and understood those words that summer day at a church camp.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
We wrestle between two poles. Thinking to highly of ourselves and thinking too lowly of ourselves. Romans 12 reminds us to think with sober judgment.
C.S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity, “The thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.” (C.S. Lewis)
Timothy Keller shares, “A truly gospel humble person is not self-hating or self-loving but a gospel humble person is self-forgetful whose ego is just like his or her toes. (The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, p. 33)”
The context of the passage of Matthew 22 talks about the Pharisees who generally were a group who thought too highly of themselves. They send a lawyer to test Jesus with the question that began this discussion.
So, we must think soberly and not be too high on ourselves, but also not too low of ourselves.
If you want to love God with all you have and love your neighbor as yourself, then you must see yourself as God sees you. Yes, you are broken and have sinned and have broken God’s heart, but He still loves you. He overflowed with love for each of us to send His one and only Son to rescue us. If He loves you like that, then maybe we should respond with that same type of love for ourselves, others and the Holy Other, God Almighty.
You will love your neighbor as yourself when you see yourself as God sees you.
If I could summarize our message, it may work best to put it in a song. Many of you have learned this song. Maybe as a little child. If you know it, then I invite you to join along.
Jesus, loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
5 Day Devotional Guide: Look In: Love Yourself
You will love your neighbor as yourself when you see yourself as God sees you.
You may want to refer to the sermon notes for further discussion. Take a moment to read the assigned Scripture and then reflect or discuss the questions. Customize this outline to your situation. Here are some questions to ask from the Discovery Bible Method:
What are you thankful for today or this week?
What challenges are you facing?
Have 2 or 3 people read the scripture out loud.
Can you summarize this passage in your own words?
What did you discover about God from this passage?
What have you learned about people from this passage?
How are you going to obey this passage? (What is your “I will” statement?)
With whom are you going to share what you have learned?
Based on this passage, what can we pray about?
Day 1: Genesis 1.26-27
Day 2: Psalm 139.13-16
Day 3: Matthew 22.34-40
Day 4: Romans 12.3
Day 5: Matthew 11.28-30