prismaticbleed | advent study devotion day 07

We can only truly love others if we understand love ourselves, and that understanding comes solely through cognizance of God's unconditional love for each individual. When we feel unworthy and hopeless, God still loves us, because He chooses to-- circumstances do not faze Him. This is how we must love ourselves, refusing to feel hatred towards our own souls, for Christ died for us, too! When we allow this immense compassion to flood our being, we can then pour it out to others freely.
We cannot be an honest member of the Body of Christ if we refuse to mark our every moment with love. We can only do that if we are acting from an inner state of BEING loved, and therefore lovable, and this only occurs with the birth and death of Christ, the divine proofs of His infinite tenderness towards us sinners. It is then that we can become true members of His Body, for we see ourselves & all others as He does. We do not judge, we do not condemn. We simply love, and that love makes all things new.