Love Society

By: Patricia Nordman

I will love them freely … (Hosea 14:4 NKJV).

Unconditional love! Sounds great, doesn’t it? To love in spite of instead of spite … Unconditional! Who can do this? How can I love this person who has ripped my heart into tiny bits of hate and resentment? Oh yes, I read and reread that lovely passage from 1 Corinthians 13 when I feel the anger and hate welling up. I have even made a poster out of the NIV version of Verse 5: [Love] keeps no record of wrongs to keep me from dredging out the old woe-is-me’s in times of anger.

Imagine my surprise when I finally discovered–with our Good Shepherds prodding and in spite of my plodding–that this is a choice we make. Indeed, we can decide to be pleasant or unpleasant when we wake in the morning. It’s the old as-if principle: I’ll act as if I truly love this person, and before I know it, I do! It sneaks up on us, thank God.

Years ago I read the following: “I love you today, where you are and as you are. You do not have to be anything but what you are for me to love you. I love you now; not sometime when you are worthy, but today when you may need love most. I will not withhold my love, or withdraw it. There are no strings on my love, no price. I will not force it upon you when you are not ready. It is just there, freely offered, with both hands. Take what you want today. The more you take, the more there is. It is good if you can return love; but if you cannot today, that is all right too. Love is its own joy. Bless me by letting me love you today” (Author Unknown). Wonderful!

There it is, unconditional, no strings attached, I love you as Jesus loves you. I love you because God first loved me. He loved me enough to forgive my sins, so how can I do less for you? Forgive me for not loving you! Forgive me for the wasted words and years when I could have held and upheld you and made both our lives easier. Love is so much easier, really. I mean the love that wants what is best for you and will help you with your life.

I quote:
I will love them freely.
God’s promise of forgiveness: We observe God’s acknowledgment or consideration of all the three points embraced in the supplication of the truly penitent. God healeth in four different ways, and each mode embraces all the others.
1. By a gracious pardon.
2. By a spiritual and effectual reformation, by enabling us to walk in newness of life, by making us holy, even as He is holy.
3. By removing judgments which sin brought upon the sufferer, whether nationally or individually.
4. By comforting. This mode of restoring health to the soul is one of Christ’s principal works. The Lord is very minute and distinct in marking every article in the penitent’s prayer. Ephraim not only besought mercy to have all his iniquity taken away, but also that He who took away all sin, should, at the same time, receive good gifts in his behalf. Jehovah, accordingly, does not only promise, “I will heal their backsliding,” but proceeds to say moreover, “I will love them freely.” This is the fundamental principle of Gospel truth. Ephraim gave a reason for his entire dependence, henceforth and for ever, upon the Lord, which was, “For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” We can do nothing on our part to obtain the mercy vouchsafed unto us; for God said, “I will love them freely.” It is out of man’s power to deserve God’s love. Another consideration must be borne in mind, not to incur God’s wrath again. (Moses Margoliouth, B. A.)

Now excuse me while I go bury the old heart at the foot of the Cross …

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By: J Finnis

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Jesus Christ; Matthew 22:37-39

Love is the law, love under will. Aleister Crowley; The Book of the Law

All you need is love, love. Love is all you need. John Lennon; song lyric

As the above suggest, love is certainly important to human-kind. Its importance is confirmed by a Google search returning no fewer than 1,480,000,000 hits for a search on “Love”.

What is Love?

But what is really meant by “love”, and in particular by “unconditional love”?

Love is what we feel (or maybe feel we ought to feel) for our child, partner, parents, family… But we also use the word to refer to things; “I love football, I love swimming…”

To love a thing simply means to like it very much. But to love a person is to value and care for that person as much as, if not more than, ourselves.

Love is something that cannot be kept to oneself. We need to give it in order to receive it. And despite the external appearance of some, at heart we all want to be loved.

A Definition of Unconditional Love

Quite simply, unconditional love is love without conditions. It is love without requiring anything in return, love no matter what. A classic example might be the undying love of a mother for a wayward son regardless of what human sins he might commit.

But isn’t all real love unconditional, for if it carries conditions - “I’ll love you if you love me, if you pay the bills, if you blah blah blah…” - it isn’t love, but emotional blackmail.

It’s easy to love those closest to us. Easy to love that with which we are familiar. But true unconditional love places no conditions such as I’ll love you because you’re my partner, child, parent… It is love for every part of the material and Spiritual realm. Regardless for whether we may know that which we love, regardless for how that which we love may have behaved towards us in the past.

Again we quote that great Spiritual teacher Lord Jesus, who said: But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. (Luke 6:27-32).

Spiritually we are all part of one great whole. Upon the individuation of incarnation we lose that sense of belonging - paradise lost. It is hidden from us on our quest to re-discover our true nature through the lessons of experience that are life.

Unconditional love represents our true Spiritual goal. The love of all others regardless of race, religion or deeds. For by truly giving unconditional love we recognize that we are part of that great oneness that is Spirit. In loving another we really love ourselves.

If it is hard to love a stranger, how much harder is it to love those we perceive as sinning against us? A shining example is that of Mrs Gee Walker whose son Anthony was murdered in a racist attack in Liverpool, England. Despite his killers remaining unrepentant Mrs Walker said, Unforgiveness makes you a victim and why should I be a victim? Anthony spent his life forgiving. His life stood for peace, love and forgiveness and I brought them up that way… I have to practice what I preach. Mrs Walker is one of very few Christians who actually practice the teachings of Lord Jesus, ie to love the sinner while hating their sins.

Practicing Unconditional Love

Life is hard. This is why our bodies, sophisticated to the n-th degree as they are, are designed to wear out. Else we would never be able to return to our true home in the realms of Spirit. To attain the state of unconditional love while clothed in human flesh is extremely hard, if not impossible. Those that have come close include Spiritual masters such as Buddha and the Lord Jesus. More modern examples would include Gandhi and Mother Theresa.

The state of absolute unconditional love is a part of perfection, which may be unattainable, but serves as an ideal to which we can all make progress towards.

In our daily work - most obviously in the caring professions - but all work involves in some way serving society in return for material reward. We can all try to go a little further than contractually required when such action results in the greater good. Take pride in what you do. Seek to be of service to your fellow man for its on sake and not solely for the resultant profit - though we all need food and shelter so the pursuit of fair profit is not intrinsically wrong.

In our Spiritual work - the Spiritual path is not for everyone, at least not this time around. But when appropriate it offers the opportunity to exercise unconditional love through healing, mediumship, or simply sending out positive thoughts to the world (also known as prayer).

In how we live our lives - showing our appreciation to those that help us, eg a mere please or thank you or a smile. Saying good morning or offering assistance to a stranger in need. The expression of positive views in conversation with friends and acquaintances. Through voting appropriately in ballots, writing to the press etc. In all of these ways we can express our love for our fellow beings with no strings attached.

Recognize the immense difficulty of attaining unconditional love in this world, but at least seek to extend our dimension of love beyond our closest circle. Remember the old adage that a stranger is only a friend we’ve yet to meet.

It is not necessary to renounce all our material possessions to do aid work in the 3rd world, though doing so might well accelerate the attainment of unconditional love. By simply being conscious of this ideal in all we do we make progress towards a major Spiritual goal.

Johnny Finnis is editor of new age spirituality explore - through various channels - the idea that this life, this world, is not the totality of our existence. In fact, it might be just one small part of something much bigger, just one tiny step along an infinite journey…

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By: Kadence Buchanan

You have probably heard that unconditional love is unattainable between couples or that it is actually the love a parent feels for his or her child. I would never contradict the second, but I will certainly dispute the first.

Learning to listen, understand, speak, and experience, are all processes of love. Perhaps you believe yourself to be the master of all the above or that you have successfully now reached a stage that it does not make any difference whether or not you are truly there for your partner. My honest opinion is that such an idea would be a disaster. If you are in a relationship that you love and respect your partner, then it is imperative for you to be willing and able to give without asking anything in return. If a person has managed to capture your attention and has been holding it ever since, then that someone is probably someone you want to see happy everyday. Treating your partner with respect and being truly open when expressing your thoughts and needs to him or her, while focusing on your partner’s best interest and allowing him or her to act according to their will, is what unconditional love is all about.

It takes great courage and unselfishness to be able to experience life through the eyes of another person and yet leave room to both of you to grow within. Understanding your partner and managing to develop the necessary communication channels is the type of hard work that unconditioned love requires. Instead of expressing demands, state preferences. Instead of acting on your own, allow the other person to be part of the process. Ask for their help when in need and let them help you when they can. Being able to carry the entire load yourself is always possible-you have proven it a million times-so, how about letting another individual show you how much they care for you?

Unconditional love is not possible, in my opinion, if the other person is not your best friend. But most of you might consider that knowing who you really are is a difficult and in many instances a rather painful personal experience. It would be at least unfair to let someone see behind your actions and examine your thoughts up closely. Well, it might be a bit scary, especially if you have never tried it before, but believe me when I tell you that you will be thanking yourself for the results. No person can truly love someone if they are not ready to open up themselves to the possibility of getting hurt in the process. Love is a risky business and you probably want to avoid having to heal in case of a misfortune, but experiencing love as equal partners and disclosing yourself to another individual is the only step you can take towards a fulfilling relationship.

Concluding, unconditional love is all about trust; trusting yourself apart from your partner. Letting your vulnerability surface is in most cases the most difficult part in the process. But the results cannot be easily dismissed. By allowing your partner to see who you are right now will make you feel less afraid that you will be rejected in the future. This unconditional love deal is not a contest of who gives in more. It is actually a process of beginning to know thyself while investing time, energy and thought in getting to know that specific other.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including
Relationships, Science, and Family

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