Unconditional Love

    And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (New International Version)

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been writing about the different kinds of love that are talked about in the Bible. Today, finally, we’ve arrived at the final one, agape love, which is unconditional, immeasurable, incomparable, and pure. It is the love which God feels for us, and which we should strive to feel towards others.
You’ve probably read 1 Corinthians 13 in its entirety – you know, the lines about love being patient, kind, not envious or boastful or proud and that it never fails. Those verses are often used in marriage ceremonies, and we should feel this towards our spouses. Unfortunately, thanks to our sinful natures, we often fall short.
After the book of Psalms, the book of John mentions the word “love” more than any other book of the Bible. Thirty-nine times in the New International Version of the Bible, in fact.
  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
This is the first Sunday in Lent, so the famous John 3:16 verse is a good place to begin our six-week journey to the cross and ultimately unto eternal salvation.
Thank You, God, Heavenly Father, for sending Your Son to be our Savior. Help us to focus on that every day of our lives, but especially from now until Easter morning. Amen.   (I spent probably too much time going through my thousands of pictures to find a good one of white flowers, representing the purity of Jesus's love for us. But the morning glories above reminded me of new life in the morning, as in Easter morning. And the crocus below reminded me of all of the new life which blooms in the Spring. So, I had to share these two pictures, as well.)