Sharing My Life (11/05/09): Unconditional Love

With Thanksgiving approaching, my mind naturally turns to ponder those things I am thankful for. Chief among these is the unconditional love I have from my Creator and my parents. Some of you may know this already, for those who do not, my folks and I have been spending more time together during recent years and becoming a stronger family unit. The past two years they have come up to Minnesota to be with me for the whole month of September. During one of our dinners together this past September, my Dad asked how my sense of their unconditional love was these days. I replied that I was thankful for it, even though I was still learning to accept it. 

As I thought about it later, I saw much of my relationship with God in that question and answer. Throughout the Bible we read numerous stories and passages that illustrate God’s unconditional love for us. God knows us in a deeper more intimate way than we could ever imaging, more than we even know ourselves. His love for us is equally as deep and intimate. Yet often, we do not feel this love. The love God has for us has never and will never change. It is as deep and wide for each of us now as it was the day we were born. It is not contingent on our earning of it. No matter what we did, we could never earn it. Nor do we have to. The price has already been paid in Christ Jesus and we are free to come.

What does change is our response. I later wrote my parents a letter in which I indicated that part of my difficulty with accepting their unconditional love was my fear. Like most people, I fear what I cannot control and there is nothing controllable about unconditional love. Quite the opposite. In one of his letters to the early church in Corinth, Paul writes an eloquent passage on love describing it as “non-judging” and “always hopeful” (1Corinthians 13). When confronted with this amazing love, most people can scarcely believe it is true and turn away in disbelief. Others, much like myself many days, accept it as if on condition and spend their lives trying to earn it. Neither is the response God ultimately desires. God desires people who worship Him not our of fear or obligation, but out of response to His unfathomable love. Life with God is not about trying to earn His love or redemption, it is about walking in joy and peace knowing it is already yours in Christ.