“This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” –

Matthew 3:17

The difficulty with the love of God is that the human heart assumes it has to earn God’s love, or at least work hard to justify receiving it. It’s very difficult for the broken human soul to conceive or think about a love that is not earned. We assume that love is contingent upon our performance. We think, “I love you because of how you treat me” or “I love you because of what you do for me.” “I love you because you’re such a nice person.” All of these are a love that is responsive. Only responding to certain conditions that elicit our love.

The love of God, however, is a motivating love. It requires no performance. It is self-giving love that flows from a nature that loves us always; whether we are high capacity producers or not.

For us to somehow presume that we must earn God‘s love through our behavior or justify God loving us by living up to production standards sends a signal to God that His love is counterfeit. Do we really mean to do that? Probably not. But our own brokenness has jaded our understanding of love to such limitations.

The love of God is unconditional. It is not tied to performance or output. It is in the love of God that the human heart finds ultimate shalom. Rest in the love of God and be affirmed that you are a child of God.

Blessings,

Kevin