Monday, March 10, 2014

Conditional vs. Unconditional Love

Imagine being told that you are loved but it has a condition attached to it. Is this the way you want to be loved? Is this the way God loves us or intends for us to love others? Working with many children and teenagers I often hear them say they don't understand what I mean when I say that they are loved unconditionally by God or their parents.
 
How sad to be told by a child that their parents only love he/she if they are good or they do something for them. God does not tell us that He will love us if we are in church every Sunday and nice to our siblings and friends. God demands us to love others no matter what--just like He loves us. God loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die on the cross for you and me. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:167 KJV)
 
Unconditional love is when I am loved no matter what. It does not give me license to constantly do bad behaviors; however, it does let me know that when I have done something wrong, God still loves ME. Parents should love their children unconditionally as well. Knowing that you are loved no matter what means that your behavior may not always be approved of but you are always loved.
 
I don't know about you but I want to be loved unconditionally by others just as God loves me. I don't want to have conditions placed on me for someone to love me.

Elaine Campbell, MA, MHC

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