She Loves Me for Me!

To be loved unconditionally is rare in human relationships.  I know Christ-follower's are supposed to love this way because God in Christ has loved us without condition.  However, it's been my experience that we have a very difficult time loving without condition, or prejudice.  Oh sure some of us do a fairly good job at this, but few, very few can go to the point of loving others with absolutely no conditions.   Think about your politics, family and culture of origin, education level, morals and values, economic position, skin color, language, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, where you live, etc.  Few people have the ability to see beyond all of these.  Someone has said that we all love unconditionally until we run into the one person that bumps up against our particular condition!

As someone who grew up in the church I should be able to name hundreds of people who've loved me like this through the years, but to be honest it's not a very high number.  Conditional love is the product of a self-consumed culture.  It is a product of the fall of humanity.  Conditional love maintains its right to determine who is worthy of our love and who isn't.  Unconditional love maintains that everyone deserves it because the only One worthy made it possible for us to love that way.

31 years ago today, I married a woman who has always loved me without condition.  Seriously!  She doesn't judge me, or try to change me.  She loves me just the way I am, no exception clauses and no footnotes.  Notice I didn't say that she never disagrees with me, or is never upset with me.  She does get angry with me and she disagrees with me on plenty.  However, she still loves me just as I am.  And her unconditional love inspires and encourages me to be a better husband, father, son, brother, uncle, friend and person.

I've always said that God is the essential foundation for any marriage.  However, I think  unconditional love is the second component and a natural by-product of having Christ at the center.   Indeed, it is humanly impossible to love without condition absent of Christ.  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (Jn. 13:34) "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

So on this 31st anniversary of marriage to a woman who loves me in this incredible way I must thank God because He is the reason she can love this deep!  Her faith is so strong in Christ that the unnatural human act of loving this way becomes totally natural.  So grateful to God for her!  May my faith in Christ be as strong!  Happy Anniversary honey!  Love, Monty

P.S. Don't kill me for the pic, it's one of my favs!