choose to believe the evidence that says you are lovable.

​It is true. That when we get to feeling unlovable, it's not because we ARE unlovable, but because we choose to BELIEVE we're unlovable.

I've been thinking about this lately in the context of the golden rule - Mark 12:31 - you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I think we have a long way to go when it comes to how we love one another. Sometimes the world brings out the worst in us. But I've been wondering - how much harder is it for us to love others when so many of us are struggling to love ourselves.

If we choose to believe the evidence that says WE are unlovable over the evidence that says otherwise, well, how much easier is it then for us to choose to believe OTHERS are unlovable as well.

I think for the longest time I've believed we get better at loving ourselves when we get better at loving others. Now I'm wondering just how capable we are of fully loving anyone while we are constantly wondering if we are lovable ourselves.

I think that's why Jesus chose to die on a cross. I think he knew the two things we'd wrestle with most in life would be our fear of death and our fear of love. Jesus somehow knew we'd live in constant fear of dying and in a constant fear of being unloved.

When he died on the cross and rose three days later - he offered us the comfort of knowing there is no such thing as death. Life is eternal.

Tim Kelllar also says this about that death:

"The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me."

Jesus left us with the biggest piece of mic-drop evidence ever when it comes to weighing whether we are lovable or not. Jesus knew we'd always be inclined to believe the evidence that says we're not. He willingly died to say I'm the only evidence you'll ever need to know that you are.

More and more, I believe His biggest motive for that wasn't that he wanted us to feel loved. No, I think Jesus knew if we didn't know how to love ourselves, we'd never be much good at loving the people around us.

You'll come across two pieces of evidence today.

One will say you are not lovable.

The other will say you are.

Please choose the latter. Because let me be one of those pieces of evidence as you start your day - you are indeed truly lovable.