Unconditional love

Thursday January 6, 2022

Unconditional love

He got up and came over to his father. As he was still far away, his father saw him and was moved with compassion ; he ran to him, threw himself on his neck and covered him with kisses. Luke 15:20

One of the beauties of this so touching parable is the love of the father, an intelligent love free from sentimentality : he left his son, certainly not without warnings, to have his costly experiments. When the latter returns, the father's love is intact because it did not depend on his son's conduct ; the father loves because he is the father of his child, and no, he proves it, for the personal satisfaction he might have derived from his son's conduct.

So is it with God for us and blessed be He for it ! Certainly, if we disobey his will, God loves us too much to let us ignore that we are not following the path of blessing. The discipline he exercises can be overwhelming, and we also have to endure some consequences of our faults. But, let us repeat, God loves us with an unchanging love.

So let us ask ourselves the question : are we imitators of God in this area ? Does our love for a brother depend on his affection for us, or on whether we interpret the Word of God in the same way he does, or on our cultural affinities ?

In the area of ​​our family relationships, it is important to love our spouse or children for themselves, not for the way they behave. Sometimes we still hear a child say : "You are too mean !" I don't love you anymore", which can give birth to and anchor in him this thought : it is through my behavior that I can acquire the love of others. What a burden for such a child to always have to wonder if he deserves the love of his parents, and what a bad orientation for his affections when he becomes an adult !

If I find that my love for those close to me is not as selfless as that of the father in the parable, I may wonder to what extent love for myself is too important to my emotional life. Nothing else to do, then, than to recognize that this is a manifestation of the flesh, and to reject it since I know that I am no longer a slave to it.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)