UNCONDITIONAL LOVE - God reminds us to love our enemies. He reminds us to love others as we want to be loved. Think about some of your worst, most selfish moments… God loved you anyhow. That’s how we need to look at one another. It means learning to love even in the tough times, just like how God loves us even when we aren’t the most deserving. And just as God loves us unconditionally, we need to return that unconditional love to Him. Showing God unconditional love means not expecting anything from God, but knowing He loves us and that we love Him, no matter what.

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Unconditional Love

Understanding Unconditional Love

by Kelli Mahoney

When we talk about God the term “Unconditional Love” often makes its way into the conversation. 

We use it when we talk about the way parents should feel toward their children. 

We use it when we talk about most relationships - you should love unconditionally. 

But what does unconditional love really mean, and what does it have to do with our faith.

Unconditional Love Defined

We use the word “love” all the time, but it’s one of those terms that defies most definition.

We love ice cream. We love our dog. We love our parents.  We love our boyfriend or girlfriend. 

Each time we use the word love, but every use of it in those sentences elicited a different idea of love. 

While we can debate the definition of love all day, unconditional love is a bit different.

It uses all those definitions of love, but unconditional love means that there is just love without preconditions or expectations.

We just love. Whether it’s friendship or romantic or parental, unconditional love means we just care.

Unconditional Love is About Action
Even if we know what unconditional love is, that doesn’t mean it only deserves lip service. 

Unconditional love requires action. 

Instead of just focusing on how we feel, we show others that we care about them and don’t expect a single thing in return.

This is how God looks at all of us. He loves us whether or not we love Him back. 

He doesn’t ask us anything in return. He knows we’re all sinners, and He loves us no matter what. 

He shows us that love every day.

Unconditional Love is Adaptable

There is no “one right way” to love someone. 

Some people need more attention than others. Some need touch while others find love in small words. 

When we love unconditionally, we adapt to what others need. 

God does the same thing for us. He doesn’t love each one of us the same. He gives us the love we need as we need it. We should think of love the same way.

Unconditional Love isn’t Easy
When we talk about unconditional love, it sounds all rosy and beautiful, but love can be hard. 

Relationships take work, because sometimes people are difficult. 

Sometimes we’re difficult.  When we show unconditional love, it comes with no expectations. This means loving someone through the hard times. 

It means forgiving them when they do something wrong. 

It means being honest with others even when that honesty can hurt a little bit. 

It also means loving people even when you don’t think they deserve any love. 

God reminds us to love our enemies. He reminds us to love others as we want to be loved.

Think about some of your worst, most selfish moments… God loved you anyhow. That’s how we need to look at one another.

Unconditional Love Goes Both Ways
Unconditional love isn’t just something others should give to us. We also need to give unconditional love to others. 

When we’re only focused on ourselves and what we need, we’re not being good at harboring unconditional love for others. 

We need to put ourselves in others’ shoes and see the world through their eyes.

This doesn’t mean we always give of ourselves to please others. No one should take advantage of you or abuse you. 

We still have to love ourselves a bit, but it means showing love when others need it. 

It means learning to love even in the tough times, just like how God loves us even when we aren’t the most deserving. 

And just as God loves us unconditionally, we need to return that unconditional love to Him. 

Showing God unconditional love means not expecting anything from God, but knowing He loves us and that we love Him, no matter what.

Kelli Mahoney

·   Has authored numerous articles on a wide range of Christian-themed topics, from Bible study to spiritual discipline

·   Worked as an administrator for NXT, a high school Christian youth group

Experience

Kelli Mahoney is a former writer for ThoughtCo where she wrote about being a Christian teen. Kelli has worked with Christian teens for almost as long as she has been a Christian herself. Her work in this field began as a leader with the senior high school ministry at Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois, and eventually served as the administrator for NXT, a high school Christian youth group. She also has significant experience in helping troubled teens through her work in juvenile probation and mental health. 

Kelli wrote for ThoughtCo on topics ranging from understanding Bible verses to being a Christian on a secular school campus. She wrote numerous articles on a wide range of Christian-themed topics, from Bible study to spiritual discipline.

Education

Kelli Mahoney received a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Illinois–Springfield in 2010. She also holds a Bachelor Science (B.S.) in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Illinois State University.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/understanding-unconditional-love-712464