The Unconditional Love of God
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
One of my favorite Christian thinkers and writers is Henri Nouwen, and this year I’ve been reading through his daybook devotional Bread for the Journey. This entry stopped me in my tracks, and instead of just paraphrasing, I want to share a little of it with you:
“What can we say about God’s love? We can say that God’s love is unconditional. God does not say, “I love you, if…” There are no ifs in God’s heart. God’s love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity. God’s love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died. God’s love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound to any time-related events or circumstances […] God desires to enter into relationship with us and wants us to love God in return.”
Does that not just stir your heart?
God loves you because he loves you because he loves you.
Not if you read your Bible more.
Not if you act a certain way.
Not if you look a certain way.
Not if you clean up that one area of your life a little more.
God’s love for you is unconditional. You are already loved and accepted even before you love and accept God himself. And to meet this kind of unconditional love and acceptance, that any relationship in the world simply cannot give… how can our hearts not turn towards Him?
I hope today your heart is stirred to remember God’s unconditional love for you. I hope that you can rest in your acceptance, in your belovedness, and that throughout the day, your heart would turn to love God back. There are no ifs in God’s heart about you!