The more we understand and know God's love, the more we see how conditional our love is. And the more we realize how much/often we think (even if subconsciously) that other people's love is also conditional. And of course human love is conditional naturally. But by God's grace and by His love, people can truly care about other people. and so we see glimpses of God's love in other people sometimes. And it's pretty cool.
And the more we realize how sinful we are, the more we appreciate and are grateful for God's non-performance oriented love. because it's a love that has chosen us. because it means that it won't go away just because we mess up all the time and are messed up. And it's not like God didn't know the whole time that we were messed up. It just so happens that we now are starting to realize how messed up we are, and then we automatically assume that God is realizing this at the same time and that He'll reject us now that he knows. But He already knew our hearts even before we realized.
O, how wonderful is such a love. How secure it is to know that it's okay to be weak and messed up. How secure it is to know that we can say to Him, Daddy help me. And to know that He won't judge us for being weak and unstable and ridiculous. Even if we're like that ridiculous little toddler crying and screaming in the restaurant. Even if we can't "behave right". haha.
May we "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ"
(Eph. 3:18b)
For although we know Him, there is more to know.
Someone yesterday said to me "the people here know me. And they love me even though they know me".
wow how interesting. i've been thinking a lot about conditional love lately. :) yes, how awful and cheap it is compared to God's unconditional love. only by God's strength can we continue to persevere in trying to love without any conditions hindering us.
ReplyDeleteyeah, isn't it amazing how we can never stop seeing more of God through what we *don't* have and *can't* achieve?
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