I LOVE YOU, IF . . .For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so thateveryone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.J O H N 3:16We all received different messages from our “family of origin” growing up.We are all products of how we were raised . . . both good and bad. Somemay have received messages associated with love that were conditional—messages like, I’ll love you if you do what I ask of you; and then if you didn’tdo what they asked, love was withheld. One soon learns in that environment:If I please and achieve, I am loved; if I don’t, I am not. The message of thatkind of love is conditional. The message of unconditional love simply says,I love you, period! No conditions—I love you for who you are and will providea safe environment for you to thrive and grow at your pace with establishedboundaries at each natural stage of maturity. Unconditional love gives withoutexpecting anything back.Christ was, is, and will always be the quintessential example of whatunconditional love looks like. He never once said to anyone, “Hey, you, go getcleaned up. Fix that problem of yours first, and then come follow me.” To thetax collector that everyone despised, he said, let’s have dinner (Luke 5:27-32).To the Samaritan woman going to a well to draw water at an inconspicuoustime of day so that no one would see her, he not only spoke to her but also toldher things about herself that only she would have known, opening the door forJesus to share about the true living water which would allow her to never thirstagain (John 4:7-26). Jesus exudes love because he is love! Jesus is our go-tomodel when we are struggling to show another person unconditional lovetoo—because while we were sinners, he died for us (Romans 5:8).S U S A N G O S S , We’re Still in ThisLord, help me to fully grasp the depth of your unconditional love,and help me to share this amazing love with others.
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