The Greatest Love Of All...

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'"
Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

What do you consider the greatest expression of love?

In 1985, Whitney Houston recorded a song suggesting that self-love was "the greatest love of all." She goes on to sing, "I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow... learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all." But the song misses Who and what true love is about: the self-sacrificing love of the Savior who gives everything for you.

Though self-love doesn’t deliver, our culture obsesses over it. Today, we upload nearly 93 million selfies every day to Instagram alone. That's 1,000 images of ourselves every 10 seconds.

But Jesus teaches you to direct your adoration elsewhere. When asked about the single most important commandment, Jesus doesn’t point to self-love. Instead, He directs your gaze upward: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37, NIV)

True love isn't about holding a mirror to yourself but lifting your eyes to heaven. It's not self-absorption but God-adoration. Jesus demonstrated this perfectly when He sacrificed Himself on the cross—not glorifying Himself but giving Himself for you.

Examine what captures your focus. Is it building your image or glorifying His? The prescription for our self-obsessed tendencies isn't more self-love but deeper God-love. 

Begin this shift by spending 10 minutes today reading Scripture without asking what's in it for you, but simply to know and adore Him better. When your focus moves from self-improvement to God-enjoyment, you discover what love truly means.

Prayer: Father, Thank You for truly demonstrating the greatest love of all. Help me each day to redirect my heart's attention from myself to You. Teach me what it means to love You with everything I am. In Jesus' name, Amen.