What is it Really All About?

Recently, I went to a non denominational church and some thoughts entered my mind regarding this idea of unconditional love that God has for us.

We learn all the time from our pastors, our Christian friends, our church "family" that God loves us unconditionally and that once we are sorry for our sins and seek God out for forgiveness, we are instantly cleansed from all sins we have committed. When I thought about this concept in depth, it makes perfect sense to me why we as humans cannot grasp the idea of unconditional love. Think about it. When was the last time you sought out another individual who has wronged you in some way, shape or form and told them, "you know what, I forgive you and I love you" and with that pretended as though that person never did anything to damage the relationship you two had together from the beginning? I know for a fact that I cannot even do that to the people I care most about at times; it is so difficult, almost impossible for us as humans to do.

The fact of the matter is that we cannot understand what unconditional love is because we do not believe it ourselves. We do not believe that someone could love us unconditionally because we do not love each other unconditionally. What a profound statement that becomes when we search within our own lives. Why would God forgive me when I have a hard time forgiving others? It is so hard to forgive those who I thought would never harm me. I don't understand, if we are made in God's image, wouldn't He be furious with us when we wrong Him, or another?

The answer is no. God loves us unconditionally because He is perfect, and no matter what we do, He has the ability to instantly forget any wrong-doings we have committed.

One of the first passages we read this past Sunday was Hebrews 4:15:

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathsize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin."

We look at the what is impossible for us to do, such as love unconditionally, and say that God loves us unconditionally because He was perfect, yet for us as humans this is difficult for us to do because we sin against God and each other. We forget the mere fact that Jesus Christ, who was God's Son, was not only that, but he was a human as well. Jesus Christ could have easily said to Himself, "These people have wronged me so many times and done against my Father, so I will not carry the burden of their sins on my shoulders and die for them." No, instead Jesus Christ came and fulfilled what we see as a task unmeasurable. Think of the person you love dearly. If they spat on you, cursed at you, whipped you, beat you, made you to carry a heavy cross for miles and miles, nailed you, and left you to die- would you still love them dearly enough to die for their sins against you and all mankind? It is an unbelievable and amazing thought isn't it?

We see the torture that I had mentioned done to Jesus Christ when we watch The Passion of the Christ, but we forget one large component. Even a movie, such as The Passion could not give us a full picture of what Christ actually went through when He died for us. The pastor at this church asked us if we knew what else came about during a true crucifixion. Did you know that when Christ was crucified, He was stripped of His clothes and made to carry His cross for miles naked in front of many bystanders? We look at nudity as shameful and do not want to present ourselves in front of others in this manner. But to have to walk this way in front of strangers? How horrifying. Also, did you know that while Christ was whipped, while He carried His cross, and while He hung on the cross to His death, that he was spat upon, and deficated Himself? It was commonplace for those who underwent so much pain and torture to often urinate and deficate upon themselves because they could not control bodily functions. People do not grasp the concept of what torture Christ really withheld in order to die for our sins.

The main point of Jesus Christ was that He was tempted, just as you and I are, and still stood on the solid rock of His faith. He went through the same things you and I do. He struggled with impure thoughts about the opposite sex, He was tempted to strike back at those who struck Him. He was tempted to disown and forget us-- the difference? He didn't disown and turn away from us. This right here proves that we as humans should be able to do all that God asks of us. I am not saying by any means to think that you can be exactly as Jesus was, after all, He was God's Son. But God wouldn't expect from us what He does not think we can do. He wants us to be able to stand on the solid foundation He laid for us. He believes in us that we can do it! Believe in yourself! And even though you do not understand the concept of loving unconditionally, trust that God does, and He loves you unconditionally. Put your complete trust in Him. That is what faith is truly about.

"He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." 1 Timothy 3: 16

God wants us to say "My Kin is The Rock!" God wants us to share His love with others, unconditionally, as hard as it may be.