A Little Bit of This
Pets, like dogs and cats, are great!
These animals are more than pets,
they are family.
They aren't human family,
but sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.
We scold them, we nurture them, we train them...
and they train us.
We give them names, we take them to the doctor,
we take them on trips, we send them to school...
they sleep with us, they go on trips with us,
they cuddle with us, they even warn us.
But why are our pets like family?
Love.
It's about the Love that we share with them.
Not only do we Love them... but they Love us,
at least we sense that they Love us,
which may be the most important thing about Love....
that we believe that we are Loved.
A Little Bit of That
Doug Britton, author and Marriage and Family Therapist says,
The key is to enjoy God's love.
If loving yourself is not the answer to a negative self-image,
feelings of inferiority, or sense of failure, what is?
Is self-hate the opposite of self-love?
No.
That clearly is not God's desire.
The answer is to understand the depth of God’s love,
mercy, forgiveness, and grace.
He demonstrated this love in the most powerful way possible
when he sacrificed Jesus on the cross to die for our sins.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)
But because of his great love for us, God,
who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions —
it is by grace you have been saved
(Ephesians 2:4-5)
When we understand God’s love, when we deeply know he loves us,
we don’t need to focus on loving ourselves.
The more we experience God's forgiveness and love,
the more we think of him and the less we think about ourselves.
When we are excited and secure in his love for us,
we don't need to try to find meaning by loving ourselves.
We can rejoice and say, "I am loved."
The key is to enjoy God's love.
If loving yourself is not the answer to a negative self-image,
feelings of inferiority, or sense of failure, what is?
Is self-hate the opposite of self-love?
No.
That clearly is not God's desire.
The answer is to understand the depth of God’s love,
mercy, forgiveness, and grace.
He demonstrated this love in the most powerful way possible
when he sacrificed Jesus on the cross to die for our sins.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)
But because of his great love for us, God,
who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions —
it is by grace you have been saved
(Ephesians 2:4-5)
When we understand God’s love, when we deeply know he loves us,
we don’t need to focus on loving ourselves.
The more we experience God's forgiveness and love,
the more we think of him and the less we think about ourselves.
When we are excited and secure in his love for us,
we don't need to try to find meaning by loving ourselves.
We can rejoice and say, "I am loved."
A Little Bit of Grace
from 1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.
A Tiny Resource
The section from Doug Britton comes from his website.
Did Jesus say "I must love myself first?"
A Tiny Resource
The section from Doug Britton comes from his website.
Did Jesus say "I must love myself first?"
