Several weeks ago Pastor Eddie preached a sermon in the series Biblical Love on Loving Yourself.  As I sat beside my 11 year old daughter and watched her take notes, I was so overwhelmingly thankful for the direction of the Holy Spirit in our Pastor’s life.  Self love or self care has been a topic that our culture and secularists have hijacked over recent decades.  The premise for secular culture’s fascination with self love is an idolization of self.  A lifting up, pride based response to our self identification as master and lord of our own lives.  As Pastor Eddie unfolded the sermon he did so in several premises that bear repeating. 

First was we need to have a proper self love because we understand that we were created in God’s image.  In the Genesis account of creation God tells us that he created male and female both in his image.  To love ourselves is to love God and to respect and value his handiwork.  Having God’s image fastened in every human is the basis for love of everyone; every race, sex, and of course ourselves.  

Second we love ourselves because we were made fearfully and wonderfully.  The Psalmist uses the phrase “knit together” in describing God’s making of us.  Its incredibly to understand that while sin has affected our stained our humanity. God has made us how he desired to.  As a painter carefully brushing a masterpiece God has uniquely made you; your physical, emotional and spiritual self.

Thirdly we should have a proper self love and self worth because we were purchased with a price.  This price was nothing trivial, but rather the very life of the incarnated second person of the Trinity.  You have incredible worth and value and a re dearly loved and the act of Christ’s incarnation, suffering and resurrection is proof of your great value to God.  

Lastly we are made with purpose.  We should value and love ourselves because of the gifting and calling that God has placed on our loves.  God in his great plan and design has set us each apart for unique tasks and has wired us uniquely to accomplish them.

If you are anything like me you struggle with fully walking in a proper understanding of God’s view of yourself.  Satan has distorted and deceived our perception of God’s love for us based on our lack of obedience, sinful behavior and distortions of what truly has value and worth.  That is what made this sermon so powerful and wonderful.  A Biblical reminder of God’s love and perception of each of us, and hopefully our response to him.  I would encourage everyone to take a moment to re-listen to Pastor Eddie’s sermon on Self Love and be encouraged and strengthened in God’s magnificent love of you.