Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love

I am compelled to write today about unconditional love.  In doing so I cannot but share the writings of Rolland and Heidi Baker - 'The Lord is calling for servant lovers who will call in the outcasts, who will go into the dark corners of the world and compel the poor to come. And will they come? They will come by the millions. Who will go and leave their life of comfort and call in the broken? Who will go and be a learner? Who will go and lay their life down for Jesus among the poor? The Lord Jesus wants His house to be full. It's time for us to out to the poor, to the broken, to the homeless, to the dying, the lonely, and call them to come in. Thousands and thousands of missionaries and ministers need to go out to the darkest places, to the forgotten places, because the wedding feast is about to begin and so many of the poor have not been called. Rush out and call them. They will come.' from the book “There is Always Enough” by Rolland and Heidi Baker

This book shreds me - it leaves me in a weeping mess. The love is so vast, so completely unconditional, and so total. I am still not sure if I even understand unconditional love let alone if I am capable of it. According to psychologists, mother love is probably as close as we mere humans can get – with fathers love a short way behind. As a parent, a father, I understand a father’s love. I believe I can understand some of our Fathers love. But total, unconditional love?  I even pray, “Oh, Lord...break my heart with such a love as you have for people, wishing none to perish.“ Yet even this is probably insufficient to convey His heart to my heart and, more especially, to my understanding.

The Baker’s refer to us reaching into the darkest corners. Have you never thought that the 'darkest places' do not have to be in Africa, but they are perhaps your neighbours and your community. Your mission field is wherever God has planted you. You're not where you are by accident, but by a plan of our Father to reach the lost. Some He does send to the world’s dark places. Some He simply sends to other lands and cultures. Still others, like us here in the UK, God has sent and embedded us in a small town community in the middle of England. Even here there are dark places where, perhaps, even “angels fear to tread”. Even here, in the heart of ‘civilisation’, there are homeless, lost, and helpless souls whom the Lord wants at His wedding banquet.

That’s the crux of it all isn’t it. Jesus died that ALL might be saved; that ALL might be redeemed and find His peace. He speaks quite specifically about those who refused His invitation and about His servants going into the highways and byways to find people to bring in to the banquet. His whole life seemed dedicated to helping the poor and condemning those who were rich. He spoke to us of the poor, “Inasmuch as you give one of the least of these a glass of water, you do it for Me.”

We all applaud those who do these things but that isn’t good enough. We applaud those who give money to support them that do these things, but that isn’t good enough either. God says to each of us – that is you and me – “GO”.

Which part of GO do we not understand?