No strings attached

It's been awhile.

It's been awhile since I have come across something that didn't have a "Terms & Conditions" jargon for me to read through and "accept" or have fine print to read when purchasing something. It seems as though everything these days comes with conditions. I began to think of something that comes with no strings attached, no fine print to read...something unconditional.

I ended up with a pretty short list.

The best thing I could think of was unconditional love. How could it not top the list?

But I am not talking about just any type of unconditional love. I am talking about unconditional love in it's purest and finest form.

God's love for us.

The Bible tells us what the best unconditional love is in John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Who laid down his life for you? Jesus Christ did.

He willingly gave his life in place for me. God the Father, willingly gave His only son to die and pay the penalty that I owed. He watched as His son was mocked, scorned, beaten and ultimately killed.

All of that was done, without condition on my part.

Romans 5:8 " But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

He did all of that out of love for me. Without expecting that love to be reciprocated, he showed me His love. If I never did anything to love God or show my love for him, He still would have died for me.

There is no greater love than that.

But just like any other type of love relationship, when love is demonstrated to you, naturally you want to demonstrate your love back. This concept caused me to evaluate my love toward God. His love for me is perfect, timeless, limitless and purely unconditional. But can I say that of my love for Him? Do I base my love for God on my current conditions/circumstances?

We ought not to limit our love for God. That is my challenge: to be sure that my love for God is not conditional. To praise Him and love and obey Him when things are good and to do so when I am in the thicket of a trial.

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3

No matter what happens, Lord, may my love for you never waiver.