As an adopted child, I think I may have more issues with feeling loved than most people. In the back of my mind is always the thought; why did my parents give me up? Why didn't they want me? Didn't they love me?
But also, I can honestly say that from the time I was very young Jesus was always there with me, providing all the unconditional love that I could possibly need. He brought me through a pretty rough childhood basically intact mentally. Lol! I guess that depends on who you ask. There's always a part of your environment that figures in. I think it's because I grew up in Cicero.
In his Life Principles Study Series, "Exploring the Depths of God's Love", Charles F. Stanley says something that really struck home for me and I wanted to share it with you because I think it will resonate with a lot of people.
Our Need for Unconditional Love
Name any problems that plagues our world today, and I will point you toward an underlying emotional or spiritual need in the heart of man. Drug abuse, child abuse, spouse abuse, poverty, war, violence, crime - each of these situations is a result of a ripple effect that begins with an unmet need in the heart of one man, one woman, somewhere on this earth. The person reacts to circumstances which he believes are related to his unmet need in the heart, in a way that is unhealthy, ungodly, and ultimately unsatisfactory - perhaps with an outburst of angry words, a drink or the use of a drug to attempt to escape the need, a retaliatory measure, or grasping for material possessions in a hope of resolving the need. At that point, a trigger has been pulled. Another person is caused to feel pressure to respond to the needy person's behavior, and the problem expands and intensifies from person to person until an entire family, neighborhood, community, city, or nation is involved.
The basic condition of man's heart is neediness, and the foremost need that mankind faces is a need for unconditional love. At the foundation of all other needs we find a tremendous need to be affirmed by someone who will accept us for who we are. We long for someone to affirm our personality, our unique abilities and talents, and even our foibles and flaws. We long for someone to say to us, "I love you," without adding any "if you" when you," or "so why don't you" statements. We have a deep ache to be appreciated for no reason other than the fact that we are alive and we are a child of God.
Only God can give us unconditional love in unlimited quantities. Only God has the infinite capacity to love in this manner. All human beings ultimately disappoint us or fail us in their love because they are also in need of unconditional love. We should never expect from another person what that person is incapable of giving to us - not because they wouldn't like to love us in this manner, but because they simply do not have the infinite capacity to love us fully all the time, in all situations, and regardless of what we do.
To love a person unconditionally is not necessarily to like everything that the person does or says. It is to love the person in spite of what he does or says! To love unconditionally means to help a person become who that person can be in Christ Jesus; to help the person reach his potential mentally, emotionally and spiritually. To love unconditionally means to forgive a person freely and as often as necessary. To love unconditionally means to allow another person to express his opinions and feelings and to function fully in his ministry without hindrance. To love unconditionally means to want for another person what God wants for that person and to be sensitive always to God's timing and God's chosen methods for accomplishing His purposes in a person's life.
A Threefold need for Love
Our need for love manifests itself in three very basic needs: a need for acceptance, a need to feel competent, and a need to feel worthy. Only God provides a means for us to be fully accepted and reconciled to Himself and to others. He provides this through His plan of forgiveness.
Only God provides a means for us to feel competent. His provision comes to us in the form of natural and spiritual gifts, which He bestows upon us as our Creator. Only God provides a means for us to feel worthy and needed. His provision comes in the person of the Holy Spirit, who guides us into the paths we are to walk and the work we are to do, who presents opportunities to manifest His forgiveness, and who reveals ways in which we are to employ our natural and spiritual gifts.
Only God has a means for completely fulfilling our need for love. The simple fact is this: God longs for you to be in relationship with Him. He wants you to become the person that he created you to be from the foundation of the world. He wants to see you living a fulfilling, satisfying, and meaningful life. His desire is that you live as His child, in the fullness of blessings, mercy, and grace.
What is it today that you desire for yourself? Do you desire to receive God's love?
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Today I desire that I receive God's love in all it's fullest manifestation of Him. I claim it and receive it and I fully intend to share it with all those around me.
I love you guys and I hope you were able to be blessed through this today! Let me know if you have any comments and anything to add to this.
