“Ito naman ang pangalawa, ‘Ibigin mo ang iyong kapwa gaya ng pag-ibig mo sa iyong sarili.’ Wala nang ibang utos na hihigit pa sa mga ito.”

Marcos 12:31

Do you ever struggle with loving yourself? Here is the truth: Mahal ka ng Diyos unconditionally. Kahit sino ka man or ano man ang nagawa mong pagkakamali, Jesus still loves you. Hindi ito sikreto pero napakahirap minsang tanggapin ng ibang tao.

We all know the passage in John 3:16 where Jesus told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, ” … that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that WHOEVER believes in Him … .” The only condition to be saved, if you can call that a condition, is to believe! There are no additional requirements. This invitation is extended to everyone — WHOEVER — ikaw at ako! This shows unconditional love.

If God can extend this kind of love to us, how hard would it be to extend it to ourselves? Ang nakakalungkot, marami ang nahihirapang tanggapin ito. They may have genuinely experienced the unconditional love of Jesus, but there may be a deep trauma to deal with or an unwillingness to let go of past hurt.

If you are a Christ follower who is having a hard time loving yourself, here are three ways to overcome this.

1. Forgive yourself. Napakahirap nito sa iba, but God promises that He will help us, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses” Romans 8:26 (NKJV).
2. Forgive others. Habang hindi natin pinapatawad ang mga naka-offend sa atin, every time na makikita natin sila, we hurt ourselves. Naiirita ka. Umiiwas ka. Ikaw lang ang nahihirapan. So tigilan mo na ‘yan. Mark 11:25 says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
3. Let go of pride. Minsan ito ang pinakamatinding dahilan na pumipigil sa iyo kung bakit hindi mo magawa yung numbers 1 and 2. Maaring iniisip mo na sobra ka nang accomplished para magkamali kaya ayaw mo nang patawarin ang sarili mo. O di kaya ay dapat yung naka-offend sa iyo ang dapat maunang mag-sorry sa iyo. Si Jesus nga nakapako na sa krus pero ano ang isa sa seven last statements Niya? “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34).