Why You?

Why you? It’s a commandment

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” MATTHEW 22:34-40 NLT

Christianity is a relational movement toward a right relationship with God, Others and Self

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” GENESIS 3:1-11 NLT

To have right relationships, I must uncover how I…

Perceive life

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. LUKE 11:34 ESV

Process what I have perceived

How does what I see affect how I feel?

Present myself based on what I have perceived and processed

The Goal: Invite God to reveal the real me

The good, the bad *and the *ugly

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. PSALM 139:23 NLT
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. PSALM 51:6 NLT
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. PSALM 119:29 NLT

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Community Group Discussion Guide

  1. What is one thing you love about yourself?
  2. Read Matthew 22:36-40. Why do you think so many Christians and churches miss the “loving yourself” part in what Jesus called the most important commandment?
  3. If a friend asked you, “Do you love yourself?” What would you say to them and why?
  4. In what way(s) has your past played a role in your ability to love yourself?
  5. Read Psalm 119:29. Why is lying to yourself so dangerous?
  6. In what way(s) has your relationship with Jesus helped you see past those lies into who you really are?

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a quiet space where you can be alone with God. Reflect for a few moments about how you feel when you think about God revealing the real you, to yourself. How capable do you feel to love yourself, in the deep space that directs what you do and how you act? Do you find that you fear looking more deeply, that you are resisting? Are you intrigued about seeing how God has formed you? Share these things with God and know that he holds all that you are, both the hidden and the obvious, the good and the bad. As you move through your week, consider accepting this gentle invitation to walk into deeper truth of who you are with him.

My Notes