Faith in God's Unconditional Love by Charlie Young
The concept of God creating the universe from nothing is unfathomable. Contemplating God creating humanity to share in and enjoy this creation expands our comprehension of God and his unconditional love. This faith-based article will respond to those miracles, not attempt to explain them. Theologians say that accepting something on faith is more solid than the floor upon which we stand. Responding to God’s unconditional love is more important than understanding the creation process. Our response to this boundless love needs to be our reason for being.
To provide a clearer picture of God's love, answer this: Do I fully believe that Christ would have died on the cross for me even if I was the only sinner in the world? Meditating on this is mind-boggling. Our full acceptance of Christ's humanity helps us understand his love.
Saint Augustine (AD 354-430) expands upon these points, as noted by St. John Paul II in his encyclical, which became a book, Veritatis Splendor (“The Splendor of Truth," 1993): “Saint Augustine asks: ‘Does love bring about the keeping of the commandments, or does keeping the commandments bring about love?’ And he answers: 'But who can doubt that love comes first? For the one who does not love has no reason for keeping the commandments'" (VS 22).
Additionally, in a 1988 apostolic exhortation on the role of the laity in the Church (Christifideles Laici), St. John Paul II states: “Therefore, I have maintained that a faith that does not affect a person’s culture is a faith not fully embraced, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived" (CL 59). We need to embrace this point and one in the Bible about love: "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”(1 John 4:7-8).
The Blessed Mother shows us a perfect example of understanding and assenting to this unconditional love when she says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Her incomparable Magnificat, where she states, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” (Luke 1:46) reflects further on love responding to love. The full acceptance of her Son as he matured reaffirmed this love. It’s important to remember that Mary was a mother who raised a son, cooked, washed clothes, cleaned the house, and more, all in response to love.
Christianity is more a system of a faith to be lived than a system of beliefs. It is a faith based on God’s unconditional love that nourishes the relationships with God, ourselves, and our neighbor. Having perfect relationships on this earth is an ideal. We're human, subject to the human condition. But striving for perfection motivates us and develops humility, a key ingredient in being mindful.
Personal relationships involve trust, accountability, sharing, understanding, and empathy. They're nonjudgmental and created through integrity, civil dialogue, and transparency!. They are Christlike. He lived as he was and who he said he was. There is no question that this is idealistic. So why have a lesser goal?
Christ clearly stated the need for three relationships in our lives: the one with God, the one with ourselves, and the one with our neighbor.
Our relationship with God accepts that we are loved by God unconditionally. This relationship is developed through spiritual exercises such as centering prayer. Its manifestation is seen in how well we develop the relationships with ourselves and our neighbor. We can't give what we don’t have, and accepting that we are loved unconditionally by God empowers us to love ourselves and others. It's quite simple. This recognition and acceptance of God’s absolute love truly affects our humaneness.
The second relationship, the one with ourselves, accepts who we are and lives in the present. These are essential components of this relationship. We build this relationship as we mature and remove vestiges of self-righteousness. This personal relationship with ourselves reaches its full maturity when we accept and participate in the unconditional love of the power greater than ourselves, God.
The third relationship, the one we have with our fellow people and creation, accepts our neighbors as they are and not what we want them to be. It preserves the goodness of God’s creation, an essential part of this relationship. This third relationship is dependent on the maturity of the first two relationships.
The communities that arise from the relationships discussed are like a good bridge. They have integrity, substantial capacity, and are secured well on both ends. The integrity and capacity arise from faith-based relationships. The supports are found in communal expressions of faith (liturgies) and celebrations of friendships. Members feel part of something greater than themselves, and the storms of differences become opportunities for understanding.
Succinctly put, faith in God’s unconditional love gives us spiritual peace. Deterrents to this acceptance maybe fear of commitment to it, getting tangled in intellectual attempts to explain the unfathomable, or plunging into a world of false loves. Our humanity is frail. It requires deep faith in God's love to be at peace, and it needs the example of and training in the humane skills that create the bridges of good relationships.
Acceptance of and faith in God’s unconditional love are essential to our relationship with God, ourselves, and our neighbors. In fact, such a faith is our foundation.
Charlie Young, currently retired, holds a master's degree from St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. He is an avid proponent of contemplation and teaching civil dialogue and mediation skills. These interests arise from his experiences within the Catholic Church, the business world, and more than twenty years as a court mediator. Charlie most recently wrote an article titled “Constructive Communication" (Friesen Press, 2021). [This article was published in the Liguorian and they were kind enough to let me put a copy on this website. Rob Ruhnke]