A love with no conditions

If you are anything like me, and I would venture you are, you long to be loved unconditionally. For someone to treasure you for who you are, warts and all. But the thought of someone knowing you that intimately can be pretty scary. And truth be told, a love with no conditions is an overwhelming idea. It doesn’t matter if you ask for it, understand it, believe it, or even want it—you can’t ignore it.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4 that "long before [God] laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.” We see that God's love for us is unconditional because He chose us and loved us from before our first breath. He chose us before we had met any conditions, before we had done anything to earn His love, or to lose it.

Living with the truth of God’s unconditional love on our hearts does a few pivotal things. First, it silences the lies that we are out of reach, don’t belong, or can never be free. Those are lies that cannot stand in light of an unconditional love. He loved us so much that he sent Jesus to die for us while we were still his enemies!

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

Pin it

Next, we see that God’s unconditional love calls us to something greater than ourselves. It’s inclusive and enduring. It’s generous and exorbitant. His love gives us a home and a family!

“Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” Ephesians 1:5-6 (MSG)

Finally, as we understand God’s unconditional love for us, it helps us understand who we are. So many things in life are trying to tell us who we are. But what matters most about our identity is not our marital status, our race, our past, our zip code, not even what we say about ourselves. What matters is who God says we are. In a world full of identity seekers we have found in God’s unconditional love who we are and whose we are.

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11-12 (MSG)

When we look at this unconditional love, we see God has not for a second forsaken us or forgotten us. He has not abandoned us. His promises are good and His heart is for us. It doesn’t make sense. It isn’t selfish. It isn’t cautious but it is extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. (Ephesians 5:2)

The only response worthy of all that this unconditional love means for us is surrender and allegiance. What better King could we love and serve? Yes, this is our God! He’s changed our destiny. His heart for us is good. His promise for us is real. And He will never turn His back on us.

Let this be our prayer today:

Father, thank You for Your unconditional love! Help me continue to discover the great magnitude of Your astonishing love in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate, how far-reaching, how enduring and inclusive it is! I have found my home in You! You have changed my destiny!

Melodie Malone

Melodie is a vocalist and band member of Passion. Along with Kristian Stanfill and Brett Younker, Melodie helps to lead and carry the music born out of the Passion Movement, which has over two decades of impact. She leads worship on Sundays at Passion City Church, at many other Passion events, and is heavily involved in The Grove, PCC’s ministry to the women of Atlanta.