The Unconditional Love of God
Quick Summary: The power that draws us out of sin and the darkness of the shame of our fallen condition is the love of God.
——————–
Full article from source:
The power that draws us out of sin and the darkness of the shame of our fallen condition is the love of God. This love calls to us no matter our past; no matter how many times we have disappointed and failed to please our Father in Heaven, his love invites us back.
Just as Adam and Eve hid themselves because they were naked, it is instinctual to hide ourselves from God if we feel deeply that we don’t measure up, or even willingly break his commandments. Our shame can compound over a lifetime of failure. Broken promises, failed effort, seasons of rebellion, even cursing God for the pain and disappointment common to this mortal condition can cause us to believe that we will never be fully welcomed home.
What is it that draws us back no matter what the circumstance? It is the unconditional love of God. Their is a cosmic fact – an eternal reality – and that is God loves you with every aspect of His being. His love does not fail. It reaches deeper than hell. And it calls out to you forever. It will not cease as it is the objective of God’s existence to prepare and bring you into a fullness of His joy.
God’s love is unconditional. Our experience of God’s love, however, will be determined by the conditions we put on Him. If we put requirements and conditions and obligations on God before we will turn our hearts to Him then we will distort the relationship.
Because God’s love is unconditional it requires us to unconditionally come to Him in order to experience a fullness of His love. This is how we connect to a being that will never cease to love us and invite us to Him. Because his love is unconditional, in order to experience and bond with a being of that eternal magnitude, our surrender to Him must also be unconditional. It’s the only way to receive from him everything He has to give. It’s not measuring up to an expectation before He will love us. The love is ever-present. Our experience of that love will very much depend on the conditions we put on God before we will turn to him.
Because his love for us does not have conditions, our experience of that love also must not have conditions. In other words, we must come to God in the depths of humility, willing to have our hearts, minds, emotions, our past – all of what makes us think who we are – and submit all to God.
There is a very damaging idea that has been taught that God’s love is conditional. This is precisely what the Father of all Lies wants us to believe. If he can imbed in our minds that God’s love is not unconditional then he can keep us from him by making us believe that we can’t come to God unless we prove ourselves first. We may be deceived into believing that God requires a measure of obedience and justice before he will turn his heart to us. This is a lie. And the teaching that God’s love is not unconditional is also a lie. To be precise, we have to decide how we are going to experience that unconditional love – but his love is ever present, and will never cease flowing to us even as fallen, undeserving creatures.
Will God cut us off to suffer the reality and exposure of our awful fallen situation? If we desire it. Does it change his love for us? No. Will he allow us to experience the condemnation and cursing of broken covenants? Yes. But it will not change in the least degree his love for us. He loves us as beings and acknowledges our cosmic reality is as real as He is. That we are eternal agents and he will not compel us in the least degree. If we resist him will he force us to love him? He will not in the least degree. And therefore we are left to our own distortions and deceptions. The greatest of all deceptions is that God is our enemy. He is not. He is willing to go to hell for you and pluck you out – but He will not do so against your will. If you remove your conditions that you put on God he can work a miracle in you.
What conditions do you put on the love of God? What hoops must God jump through before you will come to him? Must he share your politics? Your views on social justice? Your views on sexuality? Must he share the vibe and lifestyle that you want to live in the world? Do you seek to be in God’s image or are you trying to make God in your image?
And finally, have you read his words and made a God of yourself by twisting his words and his revelations? Have you rejected his true prophets? Have you accepted false prophets that preach to you smooth words, or pervert his laws?
We have to reject every deception, every lie, and every distortion in order to come to Him unconditionally. He will lead us through this if our hearts are set on Him. We, no matter our past, can experience the unconditional love of God.
Author: Todd McLauchlin
This is an LDS site that is dedicated to the invitation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to awake and arise to the great promises of redemption and transformation. My name is Todd Mclauchlin and I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have a love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and would like to share openly my feelings, testimony, and personal perspectives of the Doctrine of Christ. I currently reside in Draper, Utah.
Recent Comments