“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 NIV
We’ve been looking at God’s free love. To recap we’ve learned that God is infinite, intelligent, intentional, benevolent, and consuming. Because God’s love is a union of three, it’s never alone, never runs out, and needs nothing in return. It’s free because it’s absolutely necessary for life. Love chooses freely and cannot be forced. Love is priceless because Christ offered to pay for us with His life to show the universe our true value.
Now here’s the catch. God already loves you freely, and there’s no way to change that. But in order to receive it fully, you have to be willing to give it freely. You have to be willing to become a conduit, a channel, with no limits on who you’ll share it with, or how much they’ll get, or what all they can do with it once they’ve got it. You receive freely and you give freely. That’s how this free love works. If you close your heart to anyone and allow selfishness to remain, the portal closes for you, too.
Love always does what is best for all. It might mean you need to love people who you don’t like, or who don’t deserve it, or who aren’t on your team, or who’ve hurt you in the past, or who might hurt you in the future. They may never recognize, acknowledge, appreciate, honor, or return what’ve you done. They may spend it on themselves, give it away to someone else, or waste it on something meaningless. Love factors in this possibility as it determines what course will be best. I know first hand that this is not always easy, but trust me: God’s love is better.
You also have to be willing to let it consume your sin and selfish nature. You have to let it destroy your grudges, disappoint your vengeance, heal your traumas, and conquer your fears. You may even have to let go of some goals and dreams. Because we are born in sin, born selfish, it feels like a vital part of us. Being consumed by selfless love can feel like dying, and can be just as devastating and frightening as a death for you and those who like you the way you are. But sin and self will only limit you and block your fullest potential, impact, and happiness. Unafraid for itself, real unconditional love frees you from the limitations of your current existence and releases you to become a better you.
Dear God, thank you for loving me unconditionally. Forgive me for taking you for granted, and not recognizing and honoring all you do for me. Forgive me for letting my selfish ambitions, prejudice, pain or fear stop me from coming to you and from loving others. Please help me to understand your love better, and choose it every chance I get. Amen.
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