Unconditional Love

Unconditional love toward another person has nothing to do with behavior, but everything to do with every person’s inherent value and worth.  For example, should a women accept and tolerate abuse from her husband because she loves him “unconditionally”? Does she fail to love him unconditionally as soon as she refuses to tolerate and accept his behavior? Not at all, that’s called codependency, which is a dysfunctional type of relationship.  When we correct our children in order to train them to do the right thing, whether it’s teaching them not to lie or to look both ways when crossing the street, isn’t it because we love them? In that situation, failing to correct them would actually be unloving.

Yet many in our post-modern culture have lost sight of this truth. The result is that many fail to discern (or don’t care to see) and are quite comfortable with their own double standard of “unconditional” acceptance for certain behaviors, ideologies and philosophies of life while demonstrating disdain and intolerance toward others who hold to ideologies and philosophies of life different from their own, all while telling you how they believe in an unconditional love that simply means no conditions whatsoever. I’m saying all of this to simply point out the reality that no one on the planet, regardless of what they profess, actually lives in a way that demonstrates an “unconditional love” that equals unconditional acceptance of all behaviors, ideologies and philosophies of life. Nor should they, since not all behaviors, ideologies, and philosophies of life are good.

The fact is that we are all capable of demonstrating genuine love and care for others (even those who mistreat us) without having to accept or agree with their behavior, ideology or philosophy of life. This is because unconditional love has to do with every person’s inherent value and worth, which they get because they are created by God and made in His image.

This is one of the reasons why Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34), rather than just “Love one another.”  For God demonstrates His unconditional love toward all in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for all of us. But His demonstration of unconditional love for all does not negate the fact that we are all sinners. Rather, God sent His Son so that anyone who turns away from their sins and turns toward God and His son Jesus Christ, will receive a full pardon, eternal life, and the new birth that goes along with it.