If God’s Love is Unconditional, Why Should We Believe?

I was talking to my friend the other day about God’s goodness. Side note: pray for family and friends in love with God, and watch your life transform as you grow with them. Anyway, I asked my friend, “If God’s love is unconditional, why does it matter if we believe?” 

At the prime age of 15, this young lady had the most beautiful response. Here is the biggest takeaway from what she had to say:

“It becomes easy to believe in God when you understand that your very existence is an example of his unconditional love…. once you [believe], life becomes so much happier, memories become richer, and laughter and joy becomes even better, because you know that at the end of the day, you are being taken care of by the best of caretakers, and that’s a wonderful feeling.”

I was blown away by the wisdom behind these loving words. But what does it mean for God’s love to be unconditional? Is that a contraction when we look at the teachings of the faith? 

There are 10 commandments that we received from Moses. The Israelites added more rules as they grew in number and wisdom to ensure God’s will was done well (spoiler: nothing goes well when done without God’s consideration). However, we finally get clarity when Jesus emphasizes two commandments in the Gospels when he teaches us to love God above all and love thy neighbor as thyself. So, doesn’t this defeat the purpose of “unconditional” love? After all, unconditional means NO conditions and complete. Why would God demand our faith if it doesn’t merit his love for us? 

Understanding Love

Before we dive deep into the apparent contradictions, let’s look at the definition of love. 

Philosophically speaking, there are four types of love (as seen in the images below) that we will not get into right now in detail, but they are good to keep in mind. All forms of love lead us to the most extraordinary type of love, known as agape in Greek but commonly translated as CHARITY. 

Unfortunately, charity has turned into a code word for doing something for the less fortunate. And while that might be a big part of love, it’s not all. Love is also far more than the feeling of butterflies and contentment. Love is choosing to sacrifice one’s selfishness for the good of others. It’s wanting heaven and doing everything with a grateful heart to keep the eternal salvation we’ve been gifted through Jesus Christ. 

Our Lord and Saviors opened the doors of heaven for us all, but even though he could’ve done it by simply speaking it into existence, he chose to humble himself and become part of human creation. He took on our sinfulness and allowed himself to be humiliated and defiled because that is the fair punishment for sin. He bore our flaws and took them into suffering and eventually death. The creator of the universe and the source of love chose to step down from heaven to be in a close relationship with you. He took your place and faced the just wrath that awaited in the solitude of hell because he could not bare to see his child be damned. Not that he gained brownie points and earned your soul, but because he, as your creator, wants the best for you, and only he knows how to give you that. 

1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.”

So, how is love unconditional if there are many rules we must follow to stay in God’s grace?

Love is free. There is nothing that we can do to earn love. We cannot purchase nor sell love since it’s our choice. We can choose how much we give to someone, but loving in the pure sense is a gift from God. 

It’s hard to understand why God would ask us to limit our desires, especially once that gives us immediate gratification. Why can’t we indulge in pleasure now if we know heaven will be a place of constant joy and rest? 

Our reality on Earth differs significantly from what we can expect in heaven. We can see that in God’s love letter to humanity through the Bible. The Israelites choose God and follow his commandments, and then they fall for pagan temptations. God is merciful and patient until a strong man comes along and guides the people’s desire for what they’ve been longing for love. God embraces his children once more. And the cycle continues for centuries. However, the love that God has for humanity is on full display when the messiah arrives. The one who is to set the captives free and give rest to those seeking God. Jesus Christ came into the world to preach the message of God: love above all. 

We read this in 1 Corinthians 13 

“1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, 5 it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, 6 it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. 9 For we know partially and we prophesy partially, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. 12 At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. 13 So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Love never fails. The fact that God does not need you to exist makes God’s love unconditional. He doesn’t require your approval to love. God will forever be God, with or without creation. He doesn’t need you in the world to love. He is the great I AM. 

If God doesn’t need me, why should I need him?

Even though God has no need for you, we want you. He thought of every hair on your head at the moment of your conception. He allowed his life-giving breath to bring you into existence through the beautiful intimacy between a male and a female human being. It doesn’t matter if the form of conception was pure or not or if your parents desired you to be created. God wanted you as part of his eternal family and allowed broken individuals to take part in his gift of life to form you. 

Even knowing how loved you are does not mean you should believe in God. But why wouldn’t you? Isn’t it what we all desire to be loved and acknowledged at the end? 

You reading this right now are seen, known, and loved by God the Almighty. The same God who created the creatures of the sea and the delicious grains of salt that flavor your food desires you to exist right now. He is crazy about you. A great song talks about this beautiful truth linked at the bottom of the post. It’s truly worth listening to! 

You are God’s everything

You can stop seeking that in other people or bad habits that leave you empty and broken. God wants to give you his all; he has even prepared a place in heaven just for you. Not only that but through the resurrection of Christ, we have been set free from the slavery to sin. The least we can do in return is say thank you. 

Sure, we didn’t ask for any of this, but every breath we take is a gift from God. The good and the ugly are part of our broken human experience, but God’s love is longing for the moment we reunite with him as he had intended it from the beginning of time. The least we can do is love the things God loves as God loves.

It’s not news that God wants you to be part of his celestial joy. Why wouldn’t you want to be with the source of love and life? Don’t you feel in your heart the desire to belong? Nothing in this world can quench that thirst for love until you encounter God himself. 

You might not be needed, but you are loved. On the other hand, you are given the freedom to want God in return, but you do need him if you’re going to grow in his glory. 

Thanks be to God for loving us to the point of opening up the heavens and reaching down to soothe our cries for help, as the Psalmist reminds us. We are the people of thanksgiving by being Catholic. Our faith revolved around gratitude for Jesus Christ, our savior and redeemer, who gave us his body and blood through the Eucharist to have eternal life. Like any good father, God nourishes us with heavenly food; how amazing is that? 

Fun fact: Eucharist is Greek for “Thanksgiving,” so we give the righteous thanks for God’s unconditional love every time we partake in communion. 

How do you thank God for giving you all you don’t deserve?

God bless you, dear friend!

A song about God’s crazy love for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjCipDrEYVA