What is Life? Is it going to the mall and buying the newest gadgets? Is it watching your favorite sports team beat their rival in a close match? Or is it having the most fun no matter the cost?
I think Life is loving those around you. It is laying down your own desires and wants for your neighbor. Life is looking at those around you and seeing their potential and calling them up into it instead of calling them out to make yourself look better.
I recently discovered that I am so busy fighting to be loved by others that I do not take any time to love them. And feeling like I have to constantly work to be loved by God and those around me has caused me to ignore others’ needs.
For me to experience Life, I learned that I have to understand that God loves me unconditionally. God looks at me and says,
“I love you just the way you are. Quit striving for My love. I give it freely. I want you to accept it and know that there is nothing that you have done, are doing, or will do that will make Me love you more or less! You are my son and I am pleased with you. I desire to spend time with you and show you the things that I have made for you. I want you to know that I have great things for you.”
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally has allowed me to stop chasing after other people’s love which is conditional and temporary. I am now able to stand strong and confident in God’s unconditional love (even when I make mistakes) and redirect to others the strength I had been using to chase after love. I now have a greater capacity to love others — a greater capacity to experience Life!
