“Unconditional: Loving The Way God Loves” by Rev. Robin Arnold

Unconditional: Loving The Way God Loves

Rev. Robin Arnold

 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

~1 John 4:8 (MEV)

 

I simply put the word in the search engine and this is what was returned: Search: Love Result: About 4,260,000,000 Time: 0.53 seconds

 

It is the one word that we use over and over, carefully and carelessly, with and without intent. It is, in my opinion, by far the most powerful word that exists. When I pause long enough to actually think about the word and what it means, I find myself drifting through memories that span my entire lifetime.

 

In my life experience it is the only word I have ever seen bring tears to the eyes of the person saying it and the person hearing it. Powerful. Strong. Binding. Liberating. Uniting. Unique. Exposing. Protecting. Safe. Love.

 

It is that simple, it is the word that so many hold hostage, so many are afraid of, so many want, so many have never had, so many need. Love.

 

It is the tangible, intangible; and if real and authentic it has no boundaries, no rules; and contrary to popular belief, clichés, talk shows and romantic novels – it does not hurt.

 

If it is real, it is unconditional, and unconditional love is not hard to give or receive. All it takes is to be selfless. Which means that we leave the anger, fear and bad results of a prior relationship at the feet of the Lord and we allow the person He placed in our lives to love us and we love back.

It means we forgive a parent for mistakes, intentional or non-intentional.

It means we pray for the friend who use to be our best friend and then we call them up and simply say, “you were on my mind”.

It means we forgive an ex-spouse and we don’t belittle that person in front of the kids.

It means we release the anger of a former supervisor, coworker, church member, family member.

It means we forgive the person who has hurt us or hurt someone we love. It’s unconditional and it is the only way to love. It is the only way to give and receive real love.

 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

~1 John 4:8 (MEV)

 

God’s love, as described in the Bible, is clearly unconditional in that His love is expressed toward His people despite their disposition toward Him.

In other words, God loves because it’s His nature to love and that love is a benevolent love.

 

The unconditional nature of God’s love is most clearly seen in the gospel. The gospel message is basically a story of divine rescue. God knows who we are and what we are capable of, what we have done and what we want to do. He is determined to save us from our sin, and this determination is based on His love.

 

Romans 5:7-8 from The Message translation explains it this way:

“God did not wait for us to better ourselves as a condition of atoning for our sin. Rather, God chose to become a man and live among His people. God experienced our humanity, our anger, jealousy, bitterness and conditional love—everything it means to be a human being—and then offered Himself willingly as a substitutionary atonement for our sin.”

 

God’s love initiates; it is never a response. That is what makes it, a perfect display of unconditional love. It is a gracious act of self-sacrifice. Selfless. That is what God does, constantly.

 

If God’s love were conditional, then we would have to earn it. We would have to somehow appease His wrath and cleanse ourselves of our sin before God would be able to love us. But that is not the biblical message. The biblical message—the gospel—is that God, motivated by love, moved unconditionally to save us from sin.

 

God loves as we should love – unconditionally.

 

Prayer

Today, I pray that you make every effort to give and receive love, unconditionally. May the spirit of God grant you the strength and courage to love unconditionally, to accept love unconditionally and to rejoice in the love of God.

 

Reflection Questions:

 

What are the conditions I have put on those who love me?

What do I need to do to move toward genuinely having and giving unconditional love.

 

Treasure Hunt:

Ephesians 1:4-5

1 John 5:1

John 1:13

 

Faith in Action:

Reach out to mend a relationship that has gone astray.

About the Author:

Robin is an ordained minister and a native of Denver, Colorado, she made Huntsville her home in 1982. Robin is a mother of four adult children, a grandmother of four, a mother-in-law, a niece, an aunt, a sister and a daughter which she thanks God for each and everyday. A powerful, dynamic, speaker Robin uses the gifts of the Spirit to speak from her heart and soul with a genuine love for whom God made her and for what she does. Robin has authored and published Dear God… It’s Me: Spiritual Poetry and Dear God…It’s Me – A Meditation Journal. Currently she is working on Walking Between the Raindrops, a collection of stories by and about people who have influenced her life and What is…Asked Javien a Christian children’s book collection. When asked how and/or why she does all that she does, she simply reply’s…I Am The Lord’s.

 

Tags: Huntsville, Our City On A Hill, Robin Arnold, Soul Food