“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”
Have you ever noticed that we’re often much kinder to others, especially those we love, than we are to ourselves? If a friend makes a mistake, we say, “It’s okay. You’ll do better next time. Let it go.” When we make the same mistake, it’s more like, “Well, that was embarrassing. Perhaps I should go live in a cabin in the woods where I will never be seen or speak to anyone again.”
We’re funny that way.
Jesus tells us, in Mark 12:30-31, to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Most of us focus on the neighbor part—and rightly so. But the command quietly assumes something else: that we’re also willing to accept God’s love for ourselves. Not because we’ve earned it, but because it just is. God loves us that much … even when we can’t quite figure out why, and especially when we struggle to love ourselves.
Let’s be honest. Most of us (truthfully, all of us) are works in progress. And as long as we’re alive, we always will be. That’s being human. Thankfully, though, God has never looked at anyone and said, “Well…that project is beyond saving.”
When we stumble, grace doesn’t shrug its shoulders and walk away. It reaches out a hand and says, “Let’s try that again.”
This isn’t about making excuses or pretending sin doesn’t matter. It means confessing honestly, accepting forgiveness gratefully, and refusing to allow guilt and regret to define us. We don’t honor God by putting ourselves down when God has already lifted us up.
So today, give yourself a little of God’s grace. Laugh at your quirks. Learn from your mistakes. Take your walk with Jesus seriously—but don’t take yourself quite so seriously. After all, God has been shaping imperfect people into saints for a long time, and somehow hasn’t lost his sense of humor yet.
As you head into the weekend, remember this: you are loved, forgiven, and, just like many Indiana roads, under construction.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me on my best days and my not-so-good days. Help me receive your grace with humility, extend it to others generously, and even offer a little to myself. Continue your work in me, one step at a time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
