what does loving unconditionally mean to you?

Spiritual resource to share: unconditional love






Two people loving each other unconditionally in the reflection of Chicago's Kapoor Sculpture in Millenium Park.



This question came as an email from my aunt who sent it out to me and my eclectic extended family. It's a good question given that "The conclusion is always the same: love is the most powerful and still the most unknown energy in the world." -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

So here is my shot at it (after first laying down some definitions and salient points):

First – what Love is
There are many kinds of love: eros (sensual love); phileo (brotherly love) and agape (divine love) , but I think that all forms of Love start from our highest concept of Love – that is of agape. In that way, Love is the purest, most elemental and radical life force. God is Love. Love’s synonyms are harmony, balance, attraction, fulfillment, contentment, adhesion, and so on.

Second – we are made of love stuff
Being made in the image and likeness of God, we are made in the image and likeness of Love. Love is the new/old normal. We are so embraced by love, we can easily take it all for granted. It is what we yearn for, recognize immediately, can't live without, take daily doses of - all because it is the stuff out of which we are made.

Third - that we are loved unconditionally
Seeing that we are made in Love’s image and likeness, we are constantly companioned with Love – with thoughts of love, with harmony and balance in our lives, hope; these attributes of Love wash over us continuously and we are loved by God without conditions.

Fourth – that we are lovable and loving
Being made of love, we are naturally lovable and loving.

Fifth – we can love unconditionally
We are at our best when we love; stress disappears, distrust dissolves, joy emerges and forgiveness flows. The body relaxes and the thoughts are free to explore what is genius, spontaneous and intimate. We love the same way birds fly. We can love unconditionally because we were made to do this. When we go against this natural response, we clog up, resulting in all sorts of uncomfortable feelings and dis-ease.

SO - what does loving unconditionally mean to me?

Loving unconditionally means to be able to see others and myself as God sees them -- as good, beautiful, harmonious and free; and then to rejoice - be deep down happy - that we are all the children of Love. It is loving from a pure basis and not fearing.

It is easy to wax poetic about love - I Corinthians 13 does it best ( this is from The Message - a Bible paraphrase)

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.


SO - what does loving unconditionally mean to you?


photo by Kim

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Snippets and healing

There are small overlooked phrases from the Bible that have stuck with me for years. Concise little greetings and comments, that - when I have paid attention to them, have rewarded me with comforting gems and healing power. This one is from the King James version of the Bible, and it sounds so intimate and sweet. In few words it captures the feeling of God as a gentle father and wise mother:

“Oh Lord, my God, mine holy One.”

Another one: John, one of the disciples, often started his letters with a humble, loving greeting to those he had come to meet:

“My little children….”

And yet another desire of pitiful patience and encouragement:

“O man, greatly beloved, peace be unto thee. Be strong, yea be strong.”

And another one about people earnestly waiting for Jesus to come into town:

"And the people gladly received him, for they were all waiting for him.”

These snippets color the Bible with a familiarity of God that has lasted over thousands of years.

One morning, I had a Bible snippet come to thought. It was prior to a response Jesus gave to a man who had asked him a question:

“And Jesus, beholding him, loved him.”

I like the word behold. It is one of those full round embracing words. I could just imagine the compassionate look on his face, answering this rather cocky, but earnest man.

Well, one morning, my younger son woke up for school and said in a very thick voice, “I kennud talk. Muh voiy ih gun and muh thro huhrts.” (I cannot talk. My voice is gone and my throat hurts.) And then the phrase,

“and Jesus, beholding him, loved him”

popped into my thought. I love my son. So I beheld him. It then occurred to me that he might have to stay home, then I would have to get his homework for the day and then he would spend the next two days catching up. This was not helpful.

So instead, I prayed. It was a simple thought: A germ does not determine what Gabe does, God determines Gabe’s day. This day belongs to God. Period. Together Gabe and I talked about his identity as a spiritual idea and prayed with the "Scientific Statement of Being" from Science and Health (p 468). We finished. He finished breakfast. Got dressed. Said in a clear voice, “I’m off!” and took off for school, completely free of the sore throat.

Another snippet came to thought:

“Heal me and I shall be healed… for thou art my praise.”

(Bible quotes in order: Habakkuk 1:12; 1 John 3:18; Daniel 10:11; Luke 8:40; Jeremiah 17:14)

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