Divine Love

Unconditional Love

“You have heard that it is said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.”

Matthew 5:43-44

How easy it is to forget this teaching when the taste of fear is in your mouth. How easy to slip into anger and recrimination. Human nature tells us to condemn our enemies, and love our friends. In order to live within this teaching of Jesus, we must go against our strongest instinct--survival.

There is a deeper teaching here as well. It is a demonstration of the difference between human love and divine love. All Jesus' teachings were quite clear on the subject of agape love—God loves you, and God loves your enemy. Equally. This life in the presence of Spirit is to be lived in love. Hard pill to swallow for humans; extremely difficult.

Jesus' best known parables were on this subject: The Return of the Prodigal Son, and The Good Samaritan. Both were designed to point out the unconditional nature of God's love compared to human love. The brother of the Prodigal represents most of us—angry that his brother received equal love and respect from the father in spite of the fact that he has squandered the family wealth, and lived among prostitutes and pigs. In the Samaritan, the men who pass by without helping the man who has been beaten and robbed, are like us when we fear the stranger, and don't want to get entangled with needy people. God is willing to get involved with losers and sick people--and also with us when we pass them by.

Agape love is unconditional. We can aspire to it, but mostly we have to do it like the 12-steppers--one day at a time, one person at a time, one situation at a time. And, pray a lot. God is not encumbered by egocentricity, but we are.

                                                                        In the Spirit,

                                                                            Jane