Many times, we show love to people who can reciprocate the same feeling towards us. Although it’s a beautiful feeling to love and be loved, we need to show love to everyone irregardless of them reciprocating the affection or not.
Truly, it is not easy to give your love and affection to anyone, much more someone who will not reciprocate the effort you put into showing affection. This is why the Bible tells us:
‘ But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ‘Luke 6:32,35
In order to understand why you should love unconditionally, we’ll take a look at what and who love is and how loving God and others can help to build you.
Love
I love Love, well who doesn’t? According to Lukas Graham in his hit song Love Someone: “When you love someone, you open up your heart and make room.” Generally, love is an intense feeling of deep affection but it needs to fulfil a certain quality test in order for it to actually be called Love.
We’ll be dissecting love from a spiritual view today and the basis(quality test)will be 1st Corinthians 13:
‘4,Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; 5.love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; 6. love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. 7.Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. ‘ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
These qualities characterise what love is and how it should be like, anything outside of this is not the love God has and wants for you.
God is Love
I came up with this theory about God: “No one can ever love me like God loves me.” When I look at how far I have come, I think about all the times God could have taken his love away from me when I messed up but he stuck with me through it all. His love for you is unconditional despite your various fall-outs. He has been looking out for you even before you got to know him. Likewise, God loves everyone in the same manner:
‘God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other. ‘ 1 John 4:9-11
The Unconditional Love of the Father
Looking at it now, God loved us even before we came into existence. He loved us well enough to create the first man in his own image:
‘So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ‘ Genesis 1:27
Greater love he showed, when he sent his only son Jesus Christ to die upon the cross in order to bring you and I back to him. No one loves you as God does, He isn’t looking to gain from you, He just wants you to experience the love which he has and come to him.
‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.’ I John 4:18-19 NKJV
Would you like to know more about the love who is God? The best chapter of the Bible that describe God as love perfectly is 1st John 4.
‘Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ‘ 1 John 4:7-8
Love God First
For us to show love, it is important that we love God first:
‘“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘ Matthew 22:36-37,39 NKJV
In the previous subtitle, you saw God as love and his unconditional love towards us. In the same way, you need to use this principle in order to show love to everyone you come across:
- Love God first
- Love your neighbour as yourself
How do we love God whose love for us is indescribable?
‘For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. ‘ I John 5:3 NKJV
When we keep his commandments, we show love to the one who loved us first. Similarly, we can show love to others and ourselves when we learn to love God.
‘If we believe Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. If we love and obey God, we know we will love his children. ‘ 1 John 5:1-2 CEV
An Unconditional Love
Besides the unconditional love of God, you can relate really well to the unconditional love of your mother :). It is really difficult to find a love as great as a Mother’s.
‘See that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but at all times make it your aim to do good to one another and to all people. ‘ 1 Thessalonians 5:15 GNB
Generally, Parents try to give their best to their children but the love of the mother always stands out. Why? Aren’t both parents involved in the process of bringing the child up?
When I look at my Nigerian background, I received a lot of love from my mothers( one biological, many other mothers). One thing I found in common was:
Mothers love with everything they have. They do not love you for what you can give them, they love you for all the beautiful reasons that do not exist. They genuinely want what’s best for you and will encourage and push you till you get there.
Funmi
Likewise, every love should be like that of a mother but the world is so evil that where there’s no gain, there’s no love.
End Note
Giving an answer to the title, Yes you should love unconditionally. It doesn’t matter where the person is from or their background or anything of that sort. If you love for what you can gain, you are only cheating yourself.
Love everyone unconditionally because to show love, you need to love yourself genuinely. In loving yourself, you find the best parts of you and become the person God wants you to be.
Read the previous article here: The Pastor
8 Responses
And Love is such a heart matter, and some verses are hard to swallow, 1 John 4:7-8, it’s a plain statement, whoever doesn’t love doesn’t know God, rephrased, whoever isn’t insert 1 Corinthians 13 doesn’t know God. and in 1 Corinthians it’s clear you can do Love is things and not have love.
Really great post Funmi
Thank you Seyi for being a source of encouragement also! You are the best:)
Wow, I’m here 1 year later and I can’t believe I wrote this. Who knew what was going on in my head but I’ve definitely learnt a lot today.
Thank you 😃