When I spoke with Pastor Ed about continuing JOY’s blog site after his retirement, I asked permission to use his tagline, “and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally!” at the end of each blog post.  He agreed saying, “That’s the most important part.”  It’s true.  If we don’t remember that we’re God’s beloved children… if we forget God’s unconditional love… what are we left with?  What is our faith journey about?

Recently, I was talking with a friend about cheap grace versus rich grace and about atonement theory.  That led to me saying I believe in God’s unconditional love.  He replied saying he finds a God with wrath; a God of anger and judgment in Scripture.  He said he believes God required Jesus’ death to atone for our sins in order to forgive our sins and reconcile with us.  He said, “I cannot make the move you have made by saying God is a God of unconditional love–certainly that is true–BUT God also calls us to action. Calls us to repent and follow Him… as the word that he has spoken will be our judge.”

How about you?  Do you believe God loves us unconditionally?  Or, do you believe, like my friend did, that God’s love is conditional upon our response?

Are you a parent?  If so, I’m guessing you’d agree that you love your children no matter what they’re doing.  You likely imagine that you’d love your children no matter what kind of trouble they get themselves in.  You love your children even if they act bratty or say or do things they should not.  AND, you love them so much that you help them to take on your values and morals and teach them to do the right things– things that will ultimately give them a better life with healthier relationships… you might call it a more abundant life.  True?  I think God is like that.

I responded to my friend saying that I think the word he needs is not “BUT”; I think it is AND.  God is a God of unconditional love AND (because God loves us too much to leave us where we are in sin) God calls us to action, to repent, and to follow God.

At this, my friend and I came to agreement.  He modified his original statement and said, “God’s love and forgiveness is unconditional with no exceptions AND God calls us to action, to repentance, and to follow God.”  Read Ephesians 3:17-19, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally!

Annie

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%203:17-19