You have a lot of needs and it seems selfish to be constantly coming to God for help. But, as you see yourself being an extension of Jesus touching those you associate with, you realize that you have to be ministered to first. If you don’t experience the reality and blessings from Jesus, then you can’t feel the reality of His Word for others. You have to be a participant in His healing for your life. This is so you can KNOW it is available to everyone.

Jesus loves you. He doesn’t just love everyone else. You are being asked to love your neighbor AS YOURSELF. Your love for your neighbor starts from a love for yourself. God knows you won’t understand what your neighbor (those people around you) are going through, if you don’t know what you are going through. If you don’t know how to respect, take care of, and have concern for yourself, then you will never be able to do the same for others.

Rom 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now, God wants to show you His love for you personally. He wants you to accept the intensity and fullness of His love for you so you can understand what it is all about. If you struggle with the FACT that God loves you, you are really going to struggle with the fact that He wants you to love yourself. Not like the world does for themselves but through the realization of who you now are.

1 Cor 4:7 (NIV) For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Based on this verse, you are all you received from God. Everything you now are is because God gave it to you. He did an awesome job of making you into a new creation. Now he expects you to love who HE made you to be. If you do that, you will be glad to love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.

The way for you to experience God’s love for you is to accept your WORTHINESS to be loved. It isn’t a worthiness that you have earned or have in yourself. It is a worthiness that has been given to you as a gift. You don’t deserve to be loved because of you; you deserve to be loved because GOD made YOU His child. As God’s child, you have the RIGHT to open your heart and let Him love you; you even have the obligation. Jesus’ provision of salvation made you LOVEABLE. NOW, love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.

Tell Jesus you want to be able to see He has made you loveable. Ask Him to help you be able to accept love from your heavenly Father. Let Him empower you with a love that can be directed by you to you. Allow Him to enable you to love yourself with God’s love. Then ask Him to help you experience it in such a powerful way that you are able to explain it to those around you. Since Jesus is able to make you loveable, He is able to make your friend loveable.