Does God Love Unconditionally?

[Lisa]

I’ve met numerous parents in prison - they were there every weekend visiting their incarcerated sons. None of them denied their child did something wrong. None of them were happy about it. All of them loved their child enough to continue visiting weekly under harsh conditions hours away from their homes.

I think that’s just love...

 

[Lisa]

Im asking because i think motherly love is as close as we can get towards loving unconditionally...

A mother’s love is a fierce kind of love that’s for sure! Can it at times become unconditional? I suppose so because you just want the best for your kids. But I think that’s then when it can be a wrong kind of love, your kid does no wrong.
A conditional love (no, not in the sense that you do it like this or else I won’t love you, but one with boundaries) is best and I would call that conditional love. I think the other kind of do this or I won’t love you is on the other end from you can do no wrong, its best just to stay in the middle, with you love someone and all that it pertains.

 

[justjess]

I think that’s just love...

Then you think all love is unconditional? Because conditional love is when someone can do something that makes you stop loving them. If there’s nothing they can do to make you stop loving them it’s uncondtional.

You are talking about healthy relational boundaries Lisa. Not the underlying love

 

[Vytas]

A mother’s love is a fierce kind of love that’s for sure! Can it at times become unconditional? I suppose so because you just want the best for your kids. But I think that’s then when it can be a wrong kind of love, your kid does no wrong.
A conditional love (no, not in the sense that you do it like this or else I won’t love you, but one with boundaries) is best and I would call that conditional love. I think the other kind of do this or I won’t love you is on the other end from you can do no wrong, its best just to stay in the middle, with you love someone and all that it pertains.

I think we all met parents in life who's kids can do no wrong...My kid would never do that! It has nothing to do with love at all, key word is MY. Pride forces people to be willfully subjective.
Unconditional love is when you do the right thing no matter what for the person you love, there is no ups and downs in it. It isnt influenced by actions or decisions, always right thing always best thing. Unconditional love teach and punish. And it's hard to punish, it requires a lot of love. Sacrificing your feelings, yourself, or even knowing you won't be loved anymore, you still do what is best for him....

 

[Lisa]

Unconditional love is when you do the right thing no matter what for the person you love, there is no ups and downs in it. It isnt influenced by actions or decisions, always right thing always best thing. Unconditional love teach and punish. And it's hard to punish, it requires a lot of love. Sacrificing your feelings, yourself, or even knowing you won't be loved anymore, you still do what is best for him....

I just see that more as love than anything having to do with unconditional love.

 

[Vytas]

I just see that more as love than anything having to do with unconditional love.

I was thinking about Jesus when i wrote that..

 

[Lisa]

I was thinking about Jesus when i wrote that..

I can see that

 

[elsbet]

I know you hate to be the bad cop, Red but people could do with more bad cop sometimes instead of always trying to be the good guy.

Yes I think you can love someone and judge their actions but that wouldn’t be unconditional love would it? If you loved someone and didn’t judge them at all would be unconditional love is all I’m saying.

And I don’t really understand all the brouhaha over saying that. I didn’t say you don’t love someone..all I’m saying is you don’t love someone unconditionally.

I have experience with the love of a parent whose child murdered someone. My own brother is a murderer. My parents had/have a very hard time accepting their child did something so horrible and so chose to see him in a good light and chose to disown me when I tried to bring up the obvious, that’s he did indeed murder someone.

There is a lot of denial that goes on that your precious child didn’t really do that and you and try to treat them as normal as possible, and at this point I would say that is unconditional love. Where you never mention the wrongs that person has ever done and just love them anyway. Only that’s not true. My brother did kill someone and that should be talked about and dealt with honestly. Idk if my parents ever dealt with it honestly or if they continue to see just their son without acknowledging why he will be in prison for the rest of his life...I know that recently they went to testify positively for him in yet another trial for him where the third jury found him guilty. And I would argue that unconditional love is not a good thing but bad.

For what it's worth-- that isn't unconditional love. It is denial... imo. Sorry to hear that.

 

[Lisa]

Sorry to hear that.

Thank you

 

[DevaWolf]

Pure love has no conditions, and is only giving without boundaries. I believe if God exists, He exhibits these qualities and therefore loves all of creation. Anythuing less than that, would make Him unworthy of worship and the titles 'holy' and 'perfect'. Therefore I reject the notion of God found in most religions, as God is presented as quite imperfect and in many ways worse than a human.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

Pure love has no conditions, and is only giving without boundaries. I believe if God exists, He exhibits these qualities and therefore loves all of creation. Anythuing less than that, would make Him unworthy of worship and the titles 'holy' and 'perfect'. Therefore I reject the notion of God found in most religions, as God is presented as quite imperfect and in many ways worse than a human.

Do you make a distinction between the the idea that God loves all of his creation and the concept that he approves of all of it?

If the universe were different and you became the supreme being, with all the properties you might ascribe to the God you picture (and think about it for a second) would you judge sinful actions or let them slide?

 

[Vytas]

Pure love has no conditions, and is only giving without boundaries. I believe if God exists, He exhibits these qualities and therefore loves all of creation. Anythuing less than that, would make Him unworthy of worship and the titles 'holy' and 'perfect'. Therefore I reject the notion of God found in most religions, as God is presented as quite imperfect and in many ways worse than a human.

Reading OT does that to a lot of people, you close the book and you either go to look for explanation or you go to look for someone who is as angry as you are. I guarantee you when someone calls Christian God cruel or murderer most Christians have pretty good idea what they were reading, even i often do...After some years of looking for answers, i learned one thing, there are no questions without answers...And it's humbling experience to see how little you actually understood from what you read.

 

[Douglas Summers]

I believe you're right. Do you think God loves EVERYONE though?

NO! (Gen. 6:5-7). But His Mercy and Grace is offered to everyone. There are seven things God Hates (Prov. 6:16-19). The whole purpose of salvation is to be saved from the wrath of God upon this corruptable cursed earth. Look what man has done living under the principles of Satan. He has made wars. murders, destroyed a beautiful earth and has become completly immoral and corrupt, more so now then ever in my time. The born again believer is weeping at the evil that is overcoming this age. Even to the point of his own nature. Yes God is love, but most refuse it.

 

[elsbet]

NO! (Gen. 6:5-7). But His Mercy and Grace is offered to everyone. There are seven things God Hates (Prov. 6:16-19). The whole purpose of salvation is to be saved from the wrath of God upon this corruptable cursed earth. Look what man has done living under the principles of Satan. He has made wars. murders, destroyed a beautiful earth and has become completly immoral and corrupt, more so now then ever in my time. The born again believer is weeping at the evil that is overcoming this age. Even to the point of his own nature. Yes God is love, but most refuse it.

No?

For God so loved the world... ?​

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God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.​

JOHN 3:17​

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That is the Good News... just saying.

-Fini-

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[DevaWolf]

Do you make a distinction between the the idea that God loves all of his creation and the concept that he approves of all of it?

If the universe were different and you became the supreme being, with all the properties you might ascribe to the God you picture (and think about it for a second) would you judge sinful actions or let them slide?

I would not create a world with sinful actions. Thought about that a lot. I won't blame my creation for the flaws I've built in, I'd just not build in flaws I'd punish them for.

I know you guys don't believe God created sin, but that's the only conclusion I can draw from most religious books.

He's allmighty, a human parent might love their child and not approve of them as they did not decide everything about that child as an allmighty creator does. An allmighty creator is 100% responsible for his creation, and therefore should not create something he dissaproves of.

 

[Vytas]

No?

For God so loved the world... ?​

​

God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.​

JOHN 3:17​

​

That is the Good News... just saying.

-Fini-

​

I recently heard John 3-16 called one of the most misunderstood verses in Bible. Pastor explaining it was having a lot of fun. First he asked his audience (which was quite big) who knows what John 3-16 says and all of them knew it, then he asked what John 3-15 says and only 1-2 people knew. That's too bad because John 3-16 is about John 3-15. Emphasis on SO in verse 16. So as in same way described in verse 15, but not Sooooo as people like it to read...Pastors name is David Pawson if anyone is interested...

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

I would not create a world with sinful actions. Thought about that a lot. I won't blame my creation for the flaws I've built in, I'd just not build in flaws I'd punish them for.

I know you guys don't believe God created sin, but that's the only conclusion I can draw from most religious books.

He's allmighty, a human parent might love their child and not approve of them as they did not decide everything about that child as an allmighty creator does. An allmighty creator is 100% responsible for his creation, and therefore should not create something he dissaproves of.

Every person who is a parent must read this and pause for thought. You bring a separate being, in a sense “made in your own image” who has free will. Some kids will listen, others will rebel. The way things are with freedom and love mean that both are distinct possibilities.

The capacity for choice and rebellion are not an inbuilt flaw, just the consequence of freedom.

 

[justjess]

Here’s the thing though... and I’ve been turning this over in my head a bit so bear with me if this isn’t entirely fleshed out...

Go back to my example... if god loves unconditonally but has a boundary on entry to his home (like I was saying - let’s use it as an analogy).... that boundary according to the Bible is believing in him and in Jesus Christ. That’s literally the only boundary given. Nothing else matters.

So say we don’t believe and we die, and are sent to hell. Clearly at that point we must be like oh shit - the Bible was right and thus believe because we won’t be able to not believe.

Why would human death mean the condition/boundary on entry to his house changes? We believe now, we can’t not believe. So why make us rot in hell for eternity? We’ve met the conditions.

And if the person needs to see to believe - then they can’t really be blamed for failing to believe earlier when god could have just shown them in a way they would have understood. He’s god.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

Here’s the thing though... and I’ve been turning this over in my head a bit so bear with me if this isn’t entirely fleshed out...

Go back to my example... if god loves unconditonally but has a boundary on entry to his home (like I was saying - let’s use it as an analogy).... that boundary according to the Bible is believing in him and in Jesus Christ. That’s literally the only boundary given. Nothing else matters.

So say we don’t believe and we die, and are sent to hell. Clearly at that point we must be like oh shit - the Bible was right and thus believe because we won’t be able to not believe.

Why would human death mean the condition/boundary on entry to his house changes? We believe now, we can’t not believe. So why make us rot in hell for eternity? We’ve met the conditions.

And if the person needs to see to believe - then they can’t really be blamed for failing to believe earlier when god could have just shown them in a way they would have understood. He’s god.

God would like us all to have the faith of Abraham but will meet us with the faith of Thomas!!!

“And if the person needs to see to believe...”

Then if you really wish to see, the Lord WILL meet you where you are at (if you genuinely ask).

John 20

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

 

[justjess]

Your assuming that he will meet you where asked... I’m telling you that isn’t the case for everyone.

You have quite a few posters here who have genuinely sought god, genuinely wished to have that experience and have come up with nothing.

Telling said people - myself included - that we must not have asked genuinely enough isn’t fair. And it isn’t true.

I don’t see why human death would be a disqualifier. God is eternal. And I think, personally, that as a parent no matter how late my child came to the table I’d still welcome them.