“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
What a wondrous quality it is we label “love”. It is the favorite topic of poets and musicians, believers and philosophers. And if we were to speak of the highest principled love, we would likely have in mind something we call unconditional love.
That notion creates an understanding that love which is conditional is the foundational principle. To get closer to truth, a surpassing rendering of this concept would be to replace “love” with the more accurate “conditional love”, and “unconditional love” with the already complete “love”.
Conditions are limiters. If we speak of “pure maple syrup”, many things are at play. This is not just any syrup, it is maple syrup and the implication is that being maple makes it superior. Furthermore, by calling it pure we are by inference impugning all other maple syrup as somewhat less than pure.
Conditional love is almost a misnomer. It is more like saying “love, not really”. This usage has grown out of the limitation of imperfect humans to display or even grasp love in its purest sense.
Still, we have to start somewhere. So we start with a thing we label love that is full of conditions and limitations. While this is an improvement over lack of love, it is no place to rest. We pass through this place but the longer we linger, the more likely it is that we will never grasp the truth of love.
“Unless your love is unconditional, it’s “love, not really.” ” click to tweet
Love, unconditional and pure, perfect and complete, is present at all times. It waits for us to experience it, always ready, always welcoming. All can experience it and with practice one can experience it always.
Have you embraced the unconditional? Share your experiences by commenting below.
Photo credit: Jake Belucci
“Love, not really” kinda shook me up. I will have to take a look at that.
I understand the concept you are trying to get across and agree with most of what you are saying and will add that I believe, like many things in life, love, too, is conditional. If we but read a small portion of the new testament you quickly discover that God’s love is conditional. I mean if one should deny God is that person welcome into heaven? Therefore, logically, one will have to agree that God’s love is conditional. Perhaps it is not the condition of love that should be questioned, rather the perfect understanding of our own hidden requirements to accept love and the understanding of other’s predetermined conditions.
Allow me to suggest that denying love and denying entry into heaven are two separate things. Jesus himself said we should love our enemies. Would Jesus ask of us something that even God could not do?