Unconditional Love

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

If you grew up in church like me, one of the first songs you probably learned as a kid went like this: 

            Jesus loves me, this I know.

            For the Bible tells me so.

            Little ones to him belong.

            We are weak, but he is strong. 

            Jesus loves me he who died

            Heaven’s gate to open wide

            He will wash away my sin

            Let his little child come in

Within the church, we do everything we can to teach everyone, from children to adults, that we are loved by God. So then why is it so difficult sometimes for us to truly grasp and believe the truth that He loves us unconditionally? 

This is something I’ve really struggled with over the years. I think I need to be the “perfect Christian girl” (whatever that means) for God to love me. And then when I inevitably fall short, I beat myself up for it. I think things like, “Kristen, it’s been a while since you’ve prayed. Do you really think God wants to talk to you if you’ve been ignoring Him for so long?” or “Gosh Kristen, you’ve skipped your quiet time for a week straight. God’s got to be so disappointed in you.” I assign God the picture of how a flawed human would love me, rather than how a perfect, gracious God loves me, and that’s where I really mess up.

God isn’t sitting up in heaven, wagging His finger at me and shaking His head in disappointment because I haven’t been perfect. He’s not keeping a tally of every day I don’t pray or every day I miss my quiet time so He can wave my mistakes in my face. That’s not who He is at all. He’s patient. He’s gracious. He’s forgiving. And He is always there, wanting to spend time with me, to speak to me, to comfort me, and to guide me. His love really is unconditional, no matter how I try to add conditions to it in my head.

I am totally confident that I’m not alone in this struggle. There are so many of us that fight with being loved, and that’s why we work really hard trying to get approval, applause, or acceptance because we want to feel loved. But God loves you so much that He left Heaven's glory and worship and took on human flesh to go to the cross to shed His blood, and came alive again from the grave because He loves you and wants to know you. 

You don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love and acceptance. It’s a free gift to all of His children. My prayer is that you remember that truth going forward, and that you live in the freedom, peace, and joy that comes with being loved unconditionally by your Heavenly Father.