Romans 5:8 (KJV)

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Unconditional love means no keeping score. We cannot say we love someone if we are keeping track of all their faults to use against them later. It is not a game of, “I did this so you need to do that.”

We have to realize everyone has faults. Yes, including ourselves. Sometimes we may not be very lovable ourselves. I had one of those days, no, it was more like a week. I was not very lovable. I was grouchy, short tempered, and everything made me mad or upset. We all get that way sometimes, so we have to remember that when someone else is acting unlovable, we need to love them anyway.

Just like the verse above, just imagine if Christ would have said, “No, I am going to wait until they are all perfect before I die.” That just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Jesus tells us to love like He did, meaning that we have to love the unlovable sometimes.

Love is the absence of judgment. Yes, it is hard sometimes to put our feelings aside, especially when people are mean, rude, or hateful. Sometimes it even causes us pain to do so. I’m sure Christ suffered some pain also. Unconditional love is the only way for us to love like Christ. Conditional love lacks compassion and is not healthy for anyone.

So this week let’s stop keeping score. Let’s do our best to love those around us who seem very unlovable at times. No one is perfect. There was only one who fit those qualifications. So let’s be patient with those around us, just like we expect them to be patient with us when we are unlovable.