I recently had an experience in a fast-food restaurant that reminded me of what it is to love without conditions.
Walking toward the drink machine, I saw a little girl of about three waiting while her dad filled their cups. The girl saw me and ran to me, smiling, and I smiled back. The girl’s dad walked over and explained that his daughter had never run up to a stranger that way before. I said I must look like someone the girl knows.
The little girl walked away with her dad, but then she turned and ran back to me, this time wrapping her arms around my legs. Surprised, her dad came back and apologized, saying he had no idea what would make the girl behave like this. He picked her up and carried her off.
In that moment, I felt blessed to be the proxy for whomever the little girl loved so much. The experience felt like a gift to me after a very long day. I choose to believe God sent a little child to remind me of His love for me.
God’s Promises for You
Perhaps the greatest earthly picture of unconditional love is a parent’s love for a child. At our seminars, when we ask parents to raise their hands if they love their kids, all the hands go up. When we ask how many of them love their kids only if they’re successful, all the hands go down.
You love your kids unconditionally, right? But some human relationships have taught us about conditional love and left us broken and wounded. This experience can color our relationship with our heavenly Father.
God’s love, however, is not like any other love. Read the following promises of God and personalize them by inserting your name in the blank.
______, I know you by name.
______, I have loved you with an everlasting love.
______, I gave My life for you.
______, I have great plans for you.
______, nothing can separate you from My love.
______, I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
______, ask and you will receive.
______, I want you to have life and have it to the full.
______, I take great delight in you.
______, I am with you wherever you go.
______, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Never-Ending Supply
We live in a world that fuels pride and fear. Through fads, fashion, and societal pressure to acquire more, we are lured into believing we can secure for ourselves a sense of meaning and safety.
In absolute contrast to these temporary, always-at-risk places to put our trust are the unconditional love and never-failing promises of God. Only in relationship with God can we find and be assured of a never-ending supply of what we need to live and lead like Jesus.
Pause and Reflect
- Pause for just a few minutes, put your doubts aside, and imagine fully embracing the truth that you are unconditionally loved by Almighty God. Accept that you can’t earn that kind of love, you don’t deserve it, and you can’t add to it or lose it.
- What in your life would you be doing differently if you lived with absolute confidence in God’s love for you?
By Phyllis Hennecy Hendry
