In the last issue I\u00a0suggested that the call to holiness is a call to\u00a0embrace a way of\u00a0living that allows you\u00a0to unconditionally love\u00a0others. One of the\u00a0primary tasks of this\u00a0present life is to learn\u00a0how to live in this manner. Since God\u00a0absolutely and unconditionally loves us,\u00a0as the heirs to His kingdom we are called\u00a0to learn how to love others more\u00a0completely and without any real\u00a0\u201cconditions\u201d. It seems that we humans\u00a0have a \u00a0great tendency to put conditions\u00a0on our love for others. In doing this we\u00a0don\u2019t realize how very much we limit our\u00a0lives. I would ask this question: How is\u00a0your life limited if \u00a0you unconditionally\u00a0love others? When we strive to make\u00a0unconditional love the way of \u00a0living, we\u00a0expand our ability to experience the\u00a0fullness of life. When we don\u2019t, we\u00a0severely limit our ability to experience the\u00a0fullness of life and love.<\/p>\n
Jesus clearly revealed to us that the\u00a0fullness of life is experienced in the\u00a0process of \u00a0extending unconditional love to\u00a0others. We clearly see this in His suffering\u00a0and death. It as precisely His willingness\u00a0to unconditionally love that won Him\u00a0resurrection from the \u00a0dead.\u00a0If we attempt to learn how to love\u00a0even when hatred is directed at us, we\u00a0begin to truly\u00a0experience the fullness of life – we begin\u00a0to truly experience what it means to be a\u00a0child of God – we begin to understand how\u00a0much God loves us. We must always remember that we cannot experience God\u2019s unconditional\u00a0love for us if we are unwilling \u00a0or unable to extend this\u00a0same kind of love to others. In simple terms, we can only\u00a0receive what we are willing to give.<\/p>\n
Humans frequently fool themselves into thinking that\u00a0they can limit their love for others and yet, at the same\u00a0time, experience the complete love of God. So, it would\u00a0seem that if we truly want to experience God\u2019s love, we\u00a0have to be willing to love others.<\/p>\n
Humans also frequently fail to realize that if I limit my\u00a0ability to love anyone, I diminish my actual capacity to love.\u00a0Which means that I can only give \u201cdiminished\u201d love to those
\nthat I may truly desire to love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the last issue I\u00a0suggested that the call to holiness is a call to\u00a0embrace a way of\u00a0living that allows you\u00a0to unconditionally love\u00a0others. One of the\u00a0primary tasks of this\u00a0present life is to learn\u00a0how to live in this manner. Since God\u00a0absolutely and … Continue reading