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Queen in Gold -
This weekend I attended the first Women of Worth Conference in Bloemfontein. When one of the speakers, Dr Ntabeleng Rammile, referred to the commandment to love in Matthew 22:36-40, it didn’t even surprise me. This verse showed up in so many conversations I had over the last week. When one of the Pharisees asked Jesus what the most important commandment was, He instructed us to love. According to Jesus love is most important thing in life. Love God. Love yourself and love others.
1. Love God
“Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” – Matthew 22:37
There’s a reason this commandment is given first. Love God. It’s the first thing Jesus says, because from it everything else flows. Loving God is the very reason for our existence and when we truly love God we do it with our entire existence. Loving God is the first step to learning to love. God in His essence is love. We cannot love anything else without knowing Love (1 John 4:8).
“Relationship with God is fueled by love and not performance” – Dr Ntabeleng Rammile
Notice how it says to love God “with all your heart” and “all your soul” and “all your mind” (Matt 22:37). This suggest committing every part of yourself to loving Him. We should make a deliberate decision to love God.Sometimes this will ask something of us. We’ll have to sacrifice areas of our lives that aren’t God-honoring (Rom 12:1).Another speaker at the conference, Mienke van Rooyen (You’ll remember from my article “Balancing beauty pageants and Jesus Christ”); spoke about the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak in order to receive healing (Matthew 9:20-22). Her desire was only to touch the end of His cloak. She knew that even just a little bit of Him would heal her. Imagine if we desired more than that. Imagine if our desire was for all of Him. Imagine if we devoted all of ourselves to Him. What would our lives look like? What type of miracles would we see?It all starts with love. A sacrificial love – similar to His love for us. 2. Love yourself
“And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39
You cannot love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself. Yet, this is something many of us seem to struggle with. If the Creator of the universe loves you; why can’t you love yourself? Speaker, Lulu van der Berg, spoke about how we believe that we’re unloved or not beautiful or good enough.We believe these things knowing that the King of kings has laid down His life for us. He did it all for you – because He loves you.You’re worth has nothing to do with you. You’re worth is all about the One who chose you.
“I let the things of the world define my worth... when it’s supposed to be God” – Prudence Mahlaba
When you’re inadequate, He’s adequate. When you’re not good enough, He is. When you seem to be a failure, He has the victory. When you’re broken, He heals. When you’re lost, He finds you. You’re worth has everything to do with Him. Without Him, you are worthless.
Because of Him you are worthy. He chose you even when you were still a sinner (Rom 5:8). He chose you because He created you for a greater purpose (1 Peter 2:9). He chose you in spite of your brokenness. Prudence Mahlaba shared about being vulnerable with God. We can’t and shouldn’t hide our brokenness from God. Let Him bring healing to your wounds.
"We can’t and shouldn’t hide our brokenness from God."
If this is an area you’re struggling with; read these Bible verses out loud. Read them daily, write them in your journal or stick them to your mirror. This is God’s truth:
Psalm 139:1-18 3. Love others
“And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39
Because we know our own worth in Christ we also know the worth of others. Everything He’s done for you He’s also done for every other person. This enables you to speak that worth into other’s lives.
“When you know your worth – you affirm the worth of others” – Bianca Swart
God especially chose us to love others. By loving others we reveal something of the Father’s heart to them. Simply by loving, we are being representatives of God.The great thing about love is that you can start small and you can start today. You can love amidst your brokenness. Love can be taking a different route to give your friend a lift, or it can be smiling at a stranger. It can be supporting someone during a difficult time or making an extra cup of coffee at work. No matter who you are or where you are – you can love.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 15:35