I used to think that my love for God was pretty good, but by the end of 2017, I discovered that my love for God was very conditional. I would love God more or less based on how I felt God treated me, blessed me and answered my prayers. When I became a believer in 1983, my heart was overwhelmed with love for God as I realized that all my sins were forgiven and I would spend eternity in heaven with Him. It was a truly unique feeling to know that God loved me, and I loved Him back. Furthermore, fast forward to a few years later, I can clearly remember, like yesterday, when I committed to serving God based on the passage in John 21:15-19. In the passage, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” When Peter responded, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” the Lord told him to “feed” or “shepherd” his flock. I took that question to my heart as if God asked me, “Do you love me?” When I answered Him, “Yes,” I sensed His voice saying, “Then take care of my sheep.” I then realized that the best way to demonstrate my love for God was to love His flock as He loved them and do my best to feed and shepherd them. However, I fell before God in 2017, trembling and repenting because I realized my love for God was very much conditional. It was conditional based on how I perceived He was blessing me or not blessing me, providing for me or not providing for me, answering my prayers or not answering my prayers.

So, on the last day of 2017, I made a New Year’s resolution to love God unconditionally. I am committed to loving God no matter what happens in my life. If I were to ask you today, “Do you love God?” many of you would say, “Yes, I love God very much.” However, if I were to ask you, “Do you love God unconditionally?” how many of you could honestly answer, “Yes, I love God no matter what?” It was not easy. I had many circumstances when I wanted to throw the commitment out the window and revert to blaming God for the problems in my life. Like the time when my son called me on Sunday morning to pick him up from jail because he had been arrested for DUI. My immediate thought was to say, “God, why couldn’t you protect my son from getting arrested?” However, I found the words coming out of my mouth in prayer was, “God, I love you even in this situation.” Instead, I began thanking God for His grace and mercy in that situation, like how He prevented my son from being in an accident while driving under the influence. Then, there were other things, too, like financial problems, health problems, and relational problems, that kept challenging my commitment to love God unconditionally. It was as if the enemy was throwing every trick in the book at me to make me go back on my words. However, I can say today, “God, I still love you unconditionally, no matter what.”

You don’t have to be a biblical scholar to know that God’s love is an “agape” kind of love. It means God loves us unconditionally. He demonstrated this love when He sent Christ to die for us while we were still “helpless,” “sinners,” and “enemies” (Rom.5:6-10). We find peace knowing that God loves us in Christ no matter what we do. However, can we say the same about our love for Him? The word that Jesus used to identify the greatest commandment in the Law was “agape.” He said, “You shall love (agape) the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment” (Mt.22:37-38).  The word that Jesus used to ask Peter whether he loved him or not was the same word “agape.” In the same way, God asks us today, “Do you agape me?” We tend to love God conditionally. We tend to love or not love God more or less based on whether He answers our prayers, blesses us, solves our problems, or helps us in our relationships. This is not the kind of love God asks of us.

Think about some people in the Bible who truly loved God unconditionally. Joseph’s love for God was unwavering whether he was in his father’s house or Potiphar’s house or when his brothers betrayed him, falsely accused of rape, and forgotten and left to rot in jail for two years. David’s love for God remained intact while shepherding his father’s flock, going in and out as a soldier in Israel’s army, or running around as a fugitive from Saul’s anger. Even when God became angry and judged him for adultery and murder, he kept his love for God unwavering. One of the most remarkable confessions of love for God was uttered by Job when he said, “Though He slays me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15). Even when God permitted Satan to take everything away from him, his wealth, his children, and his health, he did not blame God. Still, he uttered, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Also consider Daniel’s three friends, when threatened to be thrown into the fiery furnace, they uttered, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire… But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan.3:17-18). Or what about prophet Habakkuk, who said, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the God of my salvation” (Hab.3:17-18). To love God unconditionally is not easy, but you’re in good company of those who do.

When I started this commitment, I asked myself, “What are some practical ways of showing God that I love Him unconditionally?” I came up with three things, and I’ve tried to keep them all until now. First, I decided to love God unconditionally based on God’s character rather than the circumstances I was experiencing. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” I was going to trust in God, who never changes. I would not rely on my thoughts or feelings, which are constantly subject to change. We know God is good and merciful, and His lovingkindness is everlasting. This truth is based on words written in the Scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, page after page, shows that the God of the Bible is compassionate. You cannot miss it. And the greatest demonstration of that love was shown on the cross, where He sacrificed His Son to save us from our sins and death. The cross is God’s exclamation point and His final answer to our question, “Does God love us?” So, I would decide my reactions to things based on this truth, not feelings. Just as King David believed in the goodness of God, I was going to trust and believe and shout, “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps.23:6). God is good. God is merciful. God is compassionate and loving no matter what is happening in my life and around me. But even if God does not change anything in my life’s circumstances, I can still love and thank God for the gift of eternal life and that I will dwell in God’s house forever. So, whenever good things happen, I will thank God for them. Whenever bad things happen, I will find some good in them and thank God for them. I would also thank God for the bad stuff, acknowledging that He was using them to teach, train, and build my character so I could become more like Christ. Loving God unconditionally hinges on the truth that He loves me and not so much on what I do. It is based on who God is rather than my character, personality, and temperament.

Second, I decided to love God unconditionally by keeping His words. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word… He who does not love me does not keep my words” (Jn.14:23-24). In other words, there is an intimate connection between loving God and keeping His words. Prophet Samuel once said, “To obey is better than sacrifice… for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam.15:22-23). Saying, “I love you, God,” emotionally is not a good indicator of how you love God. Loving God with obedience is. Further, I am thankful that God is okay with my best effort at loving Him unconditionally. I don’t have to be perfect at it. I need to give my best effort. Jesus asked Peter first two times, “Do you love me?” using the word “agape.” However, Peter responded to Jesus, “Yes, I love you,” with the word “phileo” all three times. Finally, Jesus changed his word from agape to phileo on his third question. So, what does it imply? If agape love is an unconditional kind of love, then phileo love is a brotherly kind of love. And so, even when Peter answered, “Lord, I phileo you,” Jesus responded by saying, “Good. I’ll take that. Now go and take care of my sheep.” Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.” Notice that even a righteous person can fall and fail many times. Notice also that a righteous person, in God’s eyes, is not defined by success or failure but by not staying down, quitting, or giving up. The fact that the righteous person crosses the finish line is enough for God to ascribe such a title. These words greatly encourage anyone who seeks to love God unconditionally.

Third, I decided to love God unconditionally by loving others as Christ loved me. Obviously, there is a close connection between loving Jesus and caring for his sheep. It is as if Jesus was saying, “If you truly love me, then show your love to me by loving my sheep too.” The Bible says, “If someone says, ‘I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar, for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn.4:20). This is how the Ten Commandment is structured as well. The first four commandments deal with loving God, and the latter six deal with loving one another. Jesus gave a new commandment for his followers to obey: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn.13:34-35). So, what do all of these passages mean? It shows that one of the most practical ways of loving God unconditionally is to love people around you with the love of Christ. Further, you can love others practically by being patient and kind toward them. Remember, 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient, love is kind.” There are other descriptions of love in this chapter, but if you can start with these two actions, you are well on your way.

Finally, in addition to all of the above, I also found some great benefits to loving God unconditionally. First, I understood God’s unconditional love for me much better. Every time I took my negative feelings and turned them around and said, “I still love you no matter what,” I found myself hearing God saying to me, “That is how I love you too.”  Second, I saw two promises in the Bible that were given specifically for those who seek to love God with all their beings. The Bible says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28). Did you catch that? God is orchestrating things around us for good to those who love Him. In other words, if you commit to loving God unconditionally, you can rest assured that God is actively causing everything around you to work together for good. The Bible also says, “Things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor.2:9). Do you believe this promise? You can rest assured that God has a unique and amazing plan for your life.

Reflecting on my life over the last couple of years, I didn’t do great in many things, to be honest. I was not a great husband, father, or son. I was not a great Christian or a church leader. I was not even a great human being as I ignored the needy, homeless, and fatherless. I didn’t pray zealously for the brothers and sisters in persecuted areas. However, I feel pretty good that I have kept this commitment to love God unconditionally by loving Him no matter what, keeping His words to my abilities, and trying to love those around me with Christ-like love. It has become a great foundation upon which I can build up my Christian faith and love. In the future, I would like to build on that foundation and seek to bear fruit in all those areas.