Unconditional Love VS. Conditional Love: The Big Issue

Today, I am writing about unconditional love vs. conditional love, and how it affects our walk with God. This has been inside of me for a little while now, and I would like to share my thoughts with you. In our world today, we see two different kinds of love: unconditional and conditional. There are other kinds of love, such as brotherly love and a friend's love. But today, we're only looking at these two.

"What is unconditional love?" you might ask. According to Dictionary.com, unconditional love is "affection with no limits or conditions." If you look at the suffix "un-" it means "not," and is used to convey an opposite. So what does this tell us about conditional love? Conditional love is affection with conditions, such as loving someone for their money. When the money is gone, the love is gone also. There is a condition, an expectation. With unconditional love, you give everything and expect nothing. You love someone whether they have money, or whether they are poor; it does not matter to you. But, even this definition is simply the tip of the iceberg that is unconditional love.

The Greek word for unconditional love is "agape." It is used in this way when describing Jesus Christ's selfless sacrifice to provide salvation to humanity. This love is very important to every Christian, and even non-Christians. Without it, we could not be saved... We would have no hope, no chance of every spending an eternity with God in heaven. But, because God manifested himself as Jesus Christ, and showed unto us this love, we have that chance. Take a minute and imagine: what would life be like if God only chose certain people to spend eternity with Him in heaven? What if you would never have any assurance that you would go to heaven? How would you feel? I know how I would feel. I would feel hopeless, trying so hard to make myself acceptable to God, not knowing if He would turn me away or accept me. But, this is not reality! God has opened His arms to anyone who will receive Him. And I am thankful that I know I have the chance to spend eternity with Him.

Let's look and see what the Bible says about unconditional love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (KJV) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

John 15:13 (KJV) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

These two passages mean so much to me, for they describe unconditional love. I try, with all my strength, to live these verses every day. In the passage in Corinthians, it lists many good deeds that people perform. But it shows that, unless we have love, namely, unconditional love, our deeds are not worth much at all. I can do all of these things, but if I do not have the love of Christ within me, I am nothing, and my works are nothing. I will be so bold as to say this, if we do not love unconditionally, not expecting anything in return for that which we do for others, we are not fulfilling our duties as followers of Christ. And if we are not fulfilling our duties as Christians, then our ministries will be ineffective, our walks with God will be ineffective, and our lives will become selfish and self-centered. There is no place in God's kingdom for selfishness, only selflessness. 

Let's take a closer look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. This time we'll read from the NLT. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Take a good look at these verses. "Love does not demand it's own way." Unconditional love vs. conditional love. Do you demand your own way? Are you always expecting, and rarely giving? Or do you give and expect in return? I sincerely hope your answer to all three questions was, "no." This is so important to a Christian's walk with God. If you are not selfless, and do not love unconditionally, then God cannot bless you. 

Let's look at John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." This speaks for itself. Imagine you were in a life-or-death situation with someone that you claim to love. If their life was in danger, would you be willing to sacrifice your life to save them? Would you honestly die for them? Look at it this way: there is no way that they can repay you for your actions, especially if you were to die. Knowing that there would be no way they could give you any form of repayment, would you still do it? Or would you let them die? To me, if I was in a life-or-death situation, and someone I loved stepped in and gave their life for mine, if there was any doubt in anyone's mind that that person did not love me, it should be immediately discarded. I would sincerely thank God for that person every day, for the rest of my life. There is no greater love than a man who would give his life for his friends. Loving unconditionally... are you?
Let's look at it from another angle. The person in danger is a complete stranger, and you have never spoken to them before. Would you still try to save them, or would you let them die? This is something that I have to ask myself. If there was a child trapped in a burning building, would you try to save them? If there was a man at gunpoint, would you do everything you could do for him? It is very easy to help an older woman carry her groceries, but if she was being mugged, would you step in and defend her? It's also easy to give yourself for those who are close to you, to those whom you love, but what about strangers? Would you do the same for them? Do we, as followers of Christ, wish to love unconditionally, as He does? Then we should be willing to do those things for strangers, as we are willing to do them for those close to us.

People need to see God's love manifested in this world, and it can only be done through us, His followers. We need to ready ourselves, step up to the plate, if you will, and be willing to truly love as God does, giving all and expecting nothing in return. There is nothing as unproductive as a selfish Christian. In fact, a selfish Christian is not a Christian at all. Yes, it's harsh, but it is true. During His time on earth, was Christ selfish? No. Is God selfish? No. Then we, as Christians, or followers of Christ, should not be selfish, and should love unconditionally.

I wish you a blessed day. :)