Love Others As You Love Yourself

Galatians 5:13-18

Author: Paul

To the Church in Galatia

“You have been given freedom: not freedom to do wrong, but freedom to love and serve each other. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: Love others as you love yourself.”

In the past, I struggled with the instruction to love others as you love yourself, because I wasn’t sure I even loved me. How can I love, if I am not sure what love is? Natural self-preservation could be a form of self-love, the will to survive, meeting all your Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. When your will to care for yourself is purely instinctual, can you call that loving yourself?

What is love? There are thousands upon thousands of poems, songs, books and movies about love. Most art in paintings and photographs depict some version, some interpretation of what love is or isn’t. There are books about the language of love and astrological star love signs. So if we aren’t sure what love is, or how to love, or even if we are loved; if we aren’t sure if we love ourselves, where do we go to find out?  

In the Hebrew and Greek language there are 4 words to describe love. Eros (romantic love), Storge (family love), Philia (deep friendship love) and Agape (Perfect love from God). Eros, Storge pronounced Stor-jay and Philia are straight forward. Agape, the perfect unconditional love from God teaches us and shows us what love is and how to do as Paul instructs in Galatians 5. Live in the freedom to love and serve each other.

Guilt, shame and false teaching lead me on a path of destruction. Looking back on it all and trying to write about my self-deprecating, self-hate seems ridiculous, cruel and unimaginable to me now and yet it was the underlying thought running through my head for so many years. “No one loves you; you are unlovable, you are nothing. You are a sinner. You’ll never be good, women can’t be good, you have no value. You are just to be seen, not heard.”

“And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Psalm 50:15 and God did! He heard me cry out in my guilt, shame and grief and he led me to His word. He led me to repentance and freedom in the name of Jesus who died so that I may live!

Guilt can be used by Satan. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.” In Genesis, guilt entered when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. They hid from God. God out of love called to them, searched for them and then clothed them in animal skin. To provide them with animal skin, blood was shed. “Under law almost everything is purified with blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:22 “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Repentance leads to Restoration. “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5  “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17 “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” Romans 8:1

Oh, what freedom I was given when God showed me His agape love! I am special to God, so special He clothed me!

Paul tells us to walk by and obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. How do we walk by the spirit? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Ephesians 4 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16

May God continue to show Agape love to us so that we can love one another as we love ourselves, the way God loves us. So that we can be free of what binds us and rejoice in all that is good! Praise God! 

-Nikki