Learning From God - Unconditional Love

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) … As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” (Rom. 9:11,13)

Notice, if you will, that there were not any preconditions expressed in or by the children to cause God to love Jacob. The children had not been born and had not acted in any way to give reason for God to invoke His love. There were no prerequisites given for the children to live up to or to accomplish before God would choose which one was worthy enough to be the recipient of His eternal love. The whole of the matter was based upon God’s choice, His electing grace. The adorning of His love was not conditioned upon any achievements of the children. The totality of it all was simply wrapped up in the choosing of God to bestow His love upon whomsoever He desires. God in essence said: “I choose to give my love to Jacob, not because he deserves it or has earned it; but only because I choose to do so.”

There is a lesson in this for all Christians to learn. In the flesh there is a tendency to set pre-qualifying conditions that must be met before we bestow the “blessings” of our love upon others. Sometimes these conditions are determined by physical appearances, financial means, social status, racial or ethnic profiles, what side of the tracks they live, and many other petty issues of deciding if one deserves or earns our love. If God had done this to us, honestly, every one of us would come up short and find ourselves destitute of His love. Is it not fantastic that He simply said: “I CHOOSE TO LOVE YOU! - not because you deserve it, but because I CHOOSE TO DO SO!” Is there something in this we can learn from God?

There are all types of people in the world in which we live. Every one of them has a story behind their lives of how they came to be what they are. We can choose to allow circumstances to dictate our emotions, or we can be like the Father and simply choose to love without setting pre-qualifying standards. Yes, there are some who cannot handle unconditional love from others and will reject it; but there are far more who will choose to absorb, to appreciate, and to respond with love. Let us purpose and say, I CHOOSE TO LOVE!