Perhaps you can recall the heretofore oft quoted poetic refrain that so succinctly captures the paradoxical mystery embodied in the act of truly loving an-other…
“If you love something, set it free;
If it comes back, it’s yours…
If it doesn’t, then it never was anyways”
A beautiful sentiment indeed, though seldom fully realized in actual experience. Nonetheless it strikes in us a chord, as we intuitively recognize that the only way we can ever know that we are really loved in return by the object of our affection, is to be willing to let go of it (them) completely, to set them free, with no strings attached whatsoever, thus allowing them the time and space to freely choose either to respond to our tender overtures in like manner…. or, heaven forbid, to turn aside with casual disregard. We know deep down that we must resist the “natural” impulse to apply some form of coercion, however slight, in forcing their hand, for that would be acting in a manner destructive of the delicate unfolding process which true love necessarily dictates.
Contrast this with a bumper sticker I once observed back in the days when the above quoted prose was in common circulation. It rather humorously expresses the sad reality of what all-too-often passes for “love”. It read like this:
“If you love something, set it free;
If it comes back, it’s yours…
If it doesn’t, then hunt it down and kill it!”
Undeniably funny, as it is unfortunate, this “natural” knee-jerk reaction of striking out against those who dare not return our heartfelt gestures is sometimes the best response we are able to muster from within our pitifully malnourished souls, thus producing the unintended, though inevitable effect of alienating the very people with whom we desire more intimacy. Now, we can only hope that in a flash of introspective better judgment, those who succumb to such an impulse in this manner may rightly feel embarrassed or even childish, and may sense that they could, and should, be more grown-up or God-like in their handling of the matter.
Now pause for a moment to ask yourself just what would you consider to be a God-like response in this case. How do you suppose He would handle being shunned by those to whom He has offered an impassioned expression of love? Certainly we could expect to gain wisdom on any subject or in any circumstance by clearly discerning the heart and mind of the Almighty.
How one answers this question will necessarily serve as the upper limit of one’s own perception of how elevated a response may even be possible. Now, being the Author of Love, the One who actually claims to be Love incarnate, He would no doubt respond with utmost integrity and emotional maturity… right? And who among us can aspire to demonstrate a loftier, more love-ly, attitude than that displayed by the highest source of love in all the universe. Obviously His response must be the standard by which we all measure our own attempt at right-relatedness, i.e., righteousness.
To understand how God would actually behave, we have only to look at how He in His Incarnation did behave. If Christ truly be God in the flesh, then we may catch a glimpse of Love’s character by observing His life… and, as it were, the manner of His death as well. Here we find a story of steadfast love, not only in the face of abject rejection, but even when confronting utterly unfounded hostile retaliation. It was Christ who implored us to love our enemies, and to forgive repeatedly those who trespass against us, not just once, or even seven times, but seventy times seven, ie: to continue to turn the other cheek as many times as needed to finally break the ‘endless’ chain of “an eye for an eye”, and hate for hate – an attitude that would eventually lead to His fait accompli on the Cross where he willingly paid the ultimate sacrifice to drive the point home.
Thus, throughout the Bible, and the New Testament especially, a picture has been painted for us, revealing that a love ‘worth its salt’ must be offered freely, not predicated on acts of reciprocation or repentance, but on the contrary, must remain resolute even in spite of rejection or indifference, or for that matter, open defiance and unprovoked reprisal.
But wait a minute… is this really the message one would honestly derive from a reading of the Good Book? If so, is this the view commonly being dispersed from the pulpits of our churches regarding the attitude of our God towards those who reject his unconditional, ‘no strings attached’ heavenly offer? Or rather, is it not, quite the opposite message that is by and large being generally broadcast, a message scandalously inferior to it, which more closely resembles the following:
“God loves you, and thus grants you free will;
If you come back to Him, you are His…
If you don’t, then He will hunt you down and… well,
Keep you alive eternally in a state of unbearable torment!”
Wow, what a let down! So this is the illustrious standard upon which we are all to set our sights? Yes, apparently this is unconditional love, or so we are told, and yet it contains within it the most vile and reprehensible ultimatum imaginable. Tragically, when stripped of all window dressing, the central teaching on God’s love for mankind, as espoused in the vast majority of Christian churches today, is actually one of highly conditional love, to put it mildly, resting on a foundation of unconscionable duress and appalling intimidation, making the travesty of ‘love’ expressed on that bumper sticker to appear rather benevolent and kindhearted by comparison. At least the runaway ‘loved’ one mentioned there is only to be killed!
Assuredly, this grotesque distortion of God’s true nature could only have been hatched from the depths of Hell itself, for I contend that such a perverse description of unending punishment being asserted as the just recompense for the failures of that frail human creature having thus been formed from the dust of the earth, solely at the will of a God who claims to be the very essence of love, defies every sense of human decency and justice conceivable.
It is therefore no wonder that Christians often express such difficulty in living up to the arduous ‘commandment’ of Christ to love one’s enemy and to be kind to the unrepentant or ungrateful. And again, it comes as no great surprise that Christian marriages are ending in divorce at nearly the same rate as marriages between non-Christians. After all, how can they be expected to stick it out unconditionally with their bride (or groom) any more honorably than an atheist would, when they are regularly presented an image of Christ who threatens to eventually give up on His bride if she rejects His bidding one time too many? Regrettably, the God of Christianity appears either unable or unwilling to follow His own precepts.
While this conditional view of God’s love could admittedly be derived from a myopic reading of the Scriptures, as commonly is the case, it is certainly not the only view possible, and on the contrary, if one is willing to take a step back and allow oneself to breathe in the Spirit of the Book, within the context of one’s own God-given sensibilities, then the overarching theme will come into focus, that of God’s offer of unequivocally unconditional love to all of mankind.
And so it is my purpose in writing this blog, to provide a fresh alternative to what may likely be the reader’s current understanding of the Scriptures. Whereas traditional teaching all too often holds us framed as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, I would suggest that the bigger picture portrays us rather as Prodigal children in the hands of a Loving Father, who, whether out of righteous anger expressed in ‘tough’ paternal love, or out of tender maternal compassion, will do whatever is needed to set us on, and keep us on, the path most conducive to our ultimate happiness and to His ultimate purpose.
If then this message represents the actual overall intent of His Word, then as it is written, so it shall be done, “on earth as it is in Heaven”. His Word will not “return unto Him void, but it shall accomplish that which He pleases” (Isaiah 55:11 KJV) …and if there remains any doubt as to what our Father ‘pleases’, clearly “…he made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,1to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 1:9,10 NIV).
This synthesis of Heaven and earth into a gracefully choreographed dance, as it were, is not only what pleases the Father, but it is that for which all of creation “eagerly awaits” (Romans 8:18-21 NIV). From the depths of our souls we all long for that lost world described in the Eden story, a world of peace and harmony between the Creator and all that has been created. To that end, we have all ultimately been designed to respond to only one Voice, that of True Love, and so it is that “He will draw all men [back] to Himself”. (John 12:32 NIV)
In light of the foregoing considerations, an attempt to properly adapt the poetic prose quoted earlier seems in order. It is my sincere belief that this arrangement of the given verse more faithfully represents the heart of the Creator, thus revealing One worthy of our passionate, unrestrained love and worship:
“I Love you, and only in Me will you find complete satisfaction of
your soul, as well as all the desires of your heart and mind.
I set you free, knowing that freely you will return, for there is none
beside Me.
Along the way, you will pursue other lovers, but I remain faithful.
Though you make your bed in Hell, you will not be alone.
I will never forsake you and there is nothing you can ever do to
separate yourself from my Love.
Oh, and did I mention?… we will all live joyfully ever after…
together!”