Consider a father holding his beautiful baby. Which person in the scene loves the other more? Obviously, the father loves the baby more than the baby loves the father. If the baby is stricken with pain one night, the father won’t sleep a wink. But what if the father is the one stricken? The baby will keep right on sleeping. If the baby somehow finds itself in a potentially dangerous situation, the father will risk life and limb to come to the rescue. But what if the father ends up in such a situation? The baby won’t even notice. If the father suddenly dies of a heart attack, the baby will forget him in a few hours. But what if the baby tragically dies? For all of the father’s days, he will never forget the child.

You see, the father does not withhold his love until the baby does something worthy of that love. To the contrary, the father loves the baby even when the child can in no way either earn the love or repay it. The father loves the baby for who the child is, not for what the child does. That makes the love unconditional.

In 1 John 4:9-10, the Bible says:

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (N.I.V.)

Remember this verse the next time you begin to question whether or not you are worthy of God’s love. You are no more worthy of God’s love than a baby is worthy of its father’s love. But does that father still love that baby? Of course. So, stop trying to earn God’s love. You’ve already got it. Instead, focus all your energy on being the kind of child of which He can be proud.