Devotionals

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Unconditional Love
© 2006

by

Stephen A. Peterson


On a hot Oklahoma August afternoon, Delores ran into an old college sorority friend who had some very good news to tell her. After three years of continuous rebellion, her still teenage daughter was once again enthusiastic about Christ, school and church related activities.

“Do you have any clues as to why your daughter was so rebellious?†asked Dolores.

“I wish I knew,†she responded. “But I think I figured out what got her out of it for a few years.

“I believe, and know,†she went on to say, “no matter how many heartaches and headaches Karen caused me, I never permitted myself to close my day without giving thanks to God for her, that she was my child and that God gave me the privilege of having and raising her. I would then get up each morning and pray as I walked. As I walked I would then ask the Lord to help me forgive Karen and to love her more than I did the day before. My prayers really did keep me from responding to her rebellious ways. When Karen began to realize that, there was nothing she could do that would make me not love her. She also came to understand, I had no animosity, bitterness or resentment toward her. My unconditional love was revealed to her and came to see that.â€

As Dolores drove home from Oklahoma City to Shawnee, she reflected on what her friend had revealed to her. Her prayers were not only appropriate for a rebellious child but for any human relationship—friends, wives, cousins, neighbors, husbands, aunts, uncles. To love, to love unconditionally, the way the Lord loves each and every one of us, is the most important way to live and influence others.

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