UNCONDITIONAL LOVE by Joanne Lowe

"For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."

Luke 15: 24
King James Version

I watched a family program on television yesterday. It was about a family with two children. One of the children had gotten into trouble at school and the principal called the mother on the telephone at her job and demanded that she come to the school immediately. She explained to the principal that she would come to see him tomorrow, that she couldn't leave her job. The principal asked her if her job was more important to her than her son. At the same time, her boss was telling her to get off the telephone and yelling orders at her. It was too much for her to handle.

She was supposed to have gone on vacation that night but her boss had just given her another assignment and told her that she could not go on vacation. He told her that he would try to give her an extra day of vacation to make up for it. She walked out of the office and got on a bus and couldn't get off because she was in such a depressed mood that it was like she was sleep walking and in a daze. She didn't realize what she was doing and couldn't have controlled it at that point even if she did know what she was doing.

She finally called her husband a few days later who was frantic with worry and said "I'm okay. I don't know where I am. Please don't say one word or I will have to hang up on you". Her husband couldn't be quiet. He had to say it. He was so relieved to hear from her that he said to her "I love you". She said "I told you not to say anything." and she hung up the telephone.

Was she being hateful and mean to her husband? No, she wasn't been mean or hateful to him. Her mind had completely shut down like a defense mechanism. She had been pressured by so many people at the same time for so long that she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Her family, her friends and her boss all wanted her to do something for them all the time and at the same time. They had demanded it of her for so many years that it was overwhelming to her.

It was impossible for her to stay at her job that day. She knew that if she didn't get away from it all, and get away right that minute, that she really would have a nervous breakdown. So she didn't say anything to anyone and simply left. Was that selfish on her part? No, it was a desperate attempt to save her sanity.

About a week later, she finally had peace in her heart once again and she went home to her family. As she walked in the door, her husband met her at the door. Without saying a word to her, he held her tightly as he cried. She said "Do you want to talk about it"? He replied with just three words but those three words touched my heart and I cried like a baby. He said to his wife who he loved so much "Up to you". What a picture of unconditional love by a husband! O that we would have more marriages like this one.

I think if we will listen with our hearts we will hear Jesus saying to us "Up to you". He doesn't force us to do anything. We are not puppets and He doesn't pull our strings. He allows us to make the choice. Many times He calls us to do things for Him and we either aren't listening for His call, or we ignore His orders. Sad to say, sometimes we just don't care enough to stop what we are doing and answer His call.

The greatest call that He gives us is when He calls us to repent of our sins, ask Him to forgive us and come into our hearts to be our personal Saviour. His heart is filled with unconditional love for us and He is standing at our heart's door and knocking. Have you opened the door for Him? Have you accepted the sacrifice that He made for you on the cross of Calvary? If not, please don't put it off another minute.

Sometimes we as Christians allow satan and the world with all their poisonous barbs to defeat and discourage us and we stop serving Jesus. We feel that we just can't go on. He knows how we feel because I'm sure that He also felt like that many times when He was here on earth. He probably said to Himself "I can't go on because the rejection, criticism, sarcasm and scorn hurt so much". Yet because of His amazing and unconditional love for His Father and for us, He went on day after day as He endured horrors that you and I will never experience or ever fully comprehend.

Yes, it is up to us to either accept His unconditional love or to reject it. What is your choice? If you have wandered away from Jesus, He is waiting for you to come home to Him with His arms open wide. He will hold you tightly in His arms of compassion and understanding. You won't even have to talk to Him about it because He already knows. It is enough for Him that you have come home. He will give you the choice of talking about it as He says "Up to you".

Joanne Lowe
September 11, 2007