Loving people unconditionally is a very big challenge, but God commands us to! He enables us to do what He has called us to do.
It’s easy to love people that are just like us—people that look like us, dress like us, worship like us—that doesn’t take a lot of effort. But what about people that are different than us? God’s love is not exclusive; it’s inclusive. It doesn’t exclude people that are different.
It’s easy to doubt God’s unconditional love for you. That you must work hard in order to be worthy of His affection. And that you must work hard to maintain it. That’s because you’re fitting God into your human love box based on how others have treated you.
A lot of people live with an “I think God loves me” mentality because they base it on their performance. “I went to church last weekend. I was kind to my neighbor. I think He loves me.” Sometimes we’re trying to clean ourselves up, trying hard to be good enough, and then we’ll believe that God really loves us.
God has a great deal to say about you in His Word, including the fact He loves you with an everlasting, unconditional, perfect love. Believe that now, not later when you feel liked or lovable.
We can never be “good enough” to win God’s love because none of us deserve it. God, on the other hand, loves us not because we are good, but because He is good. He is full of grace and mercy, and His love is everlasting and unconditional. Choose to believe what God says about you!
God loves you right now with a great love. It isn’t an “I think” love or a conditional love. The apostle Paul says that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Nothing you’ve done has changed God’s love. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you any more or any less. It’s a gift. Just receive it by faith.
Being able to love is a process that I believe God has put in place, and it involves four steps. First, God gives His love to you. Next, you accept and receive that love. Third, you love God in return. And fourth, you allow God’s love to flow through you to other people.
God is with you, no matter how lonely you may feel, and He is for you, no matter how defeated you may feel. He will always be there for you and at your side. He’s promised it, and God never goes back on His word.
PRAYER FOR TODAY: “Father, thank You that I never have to wonder about Your unconditional love for me. Help me to rest in that love that asks nothing more than the simple trusting heart of a child. I believe that there is nothing I can do to make You love me more or any less than You always have. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
