I Love You Anyway

 Unconditional love can be a really difficult concept to grasp. It is counterintuitive: no conditions, no strings attached; you love the person at his or her core, regardless of their behavior. 

For a parent, it comes naturally. You don't stop loving your two-year old when they have a horrible tantrum, or your teenager when they engage in rebellious behavior. You see, always, the shining light of their spirit. When you are done feeling angry and put out, it is important to let them know that their behavior is not acceptable, but that you love them anyway and you forgive them, because you know that the behavior does not make the person.

Beyond the parent-child relationship. unconditional love does not come naturally. But to love the unlovable, or to forgive someone who has wronged us and "love them anyway" is modeling the "agape love" that God has for us:

1. God never runs out of unconditional love

2. Unconditional love makes sacrifices.

3. You can never lose unconditional love

4. Unconditional love means surrendering your expectations.

5. Forgiveness is the soil that allows unconditional love to grow.

(*Crosswalk.com)

I really like that last statement, because without forgiveness, our hearts and spirits close up in self-defense. Love does not grow in the soil of resentment.

Perhaps today, we can pray for the ability to forgive those against whom we hold grudges or resentments and begin to allow the healing power of unconditional love into our hearts.