For much of my life, my understanding of God has been one of His unconditional love. But, is this really an adequate word to describe the love offered to me by God?
un·con·di·tion·al ( n k n-d sh -n l). adj. Without conditions or limitations
I think that when the unconditional love of God is referred to people are speaking to the faithfulness and mercy of God. They are speaking to the truth that God's love will remain unshaken towards us no matter our actions, failures, and struggles. I totally agree with this, but this can only be true once we are in Christ. I think a more adequate word to describe God's love might actually be conditional love. There are conditions to the love extended toward sinners from a holy and righteous God. The beauty of the gospel is not that God comes near to us without conditions. The beauty of the gospel is that those conditions have been met by Christ so that we can then experience the love of God that can't be shaken or removed from us. The law has not been done away with. God still requires that we meet every expectation of the law in order to be reconciled to Him. His holiness demands perfection. The wonderful, awe-inspiring truth is that every expectation of the law has been completely and totally accomplished for us by Christ. His perfection has substituted for our falling short. The conditional love of God can be pictured in all of it's gruesome detail on the cross. The cross is where those conditions were met. The conditions were not merely done away with...they were FULLY met.
word.
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