He Loves Me, He Really Really Loves Me

Amy and I had a funny exchange the other day.  Asher was absolutely inhaling dinner, all items made by Amy the day before.  I told him he ought to be saying thank you to his mommy for all the delicious food, and then I sidled up to her myself and said with tongue firmly in cheek, "Because I don't really love Mommy, I'm just nice to her because she makes me stuff!"  I know, even in jest it was a mean thing to say.  Without skipping a beat, she said something (with her tongue also in cheek) that made me love her all the more: "Well I don't care, because you're so good to me, so if it's all because I cook you stuff, then fine by me!"

Of course, Amy and I love each other, deeply.  And that love is independent of the fact that she makes me stuff and is smoking hot and does nice things for me and is smoking hot and have I mentioned that she's smoking hot?  It's loving to tell someone that they look good and that you appreciate the nice things they do for you.  But it's also loving to love someone independent of any way they look or anything they do for you.  Indeed, love in its purest form is unconditional like that.


The Bible depicts a God who loves us unconditionally.  Many of us who have some familiarity with and exposure to this faith tradition struggle with what it means to not think that God actually does place conditions on His love for us.  We know that there is something called sin, which is a perversion of how we ought to love and which God calls us out of.  We know God loves us through that sin, wants to love us out of that sin, and will always love us no matter what.  But we find ourselves thinking that the deep love of God is held in reserve when we have fallen short.

Much like the love between spouses or from a parent to a child, things we do spark delight in another person and draw us deeper into love with them.  But true love loves that person outside of those acts and characteristics.  The Bible speaks of a God who loves us, and not only so but loves to love us.  He still hates sin, both the concept of it and our own individual dalliance with it.  But He loves us.  He delights to love us.

What a profound and momentous and life-affirming and life-freeing truth, that the God of all creation loves to love us.  The swell I feel in my heart for my wife, for my kids, is nothing compared to God's ability to love me and the delight He puts into loving me.  I am moved and anchored and compelled by it.