Working to Be Loved?

     How many times do you feel that you need to work for love? People sometimes tell you that nothing is free in this world and that you need to work for what you want. So does that mean I will have to work hard just to be loved by someone? Our parents gave us love and we did not have to work for that. However, sometimes I feel if I disappoint them or anyone else that have loved me, their love will become a little bit less. I think to my self, I must now work hard to gain back their approval and their love. And then I wonder to myself does all love come with conditions and if you really mess up in your life, could you find yourself without anyone to love you at all.

     Maybe everyone should make out an individual list so to give to others their conditions you have to meet before they could love you. Then if you are not receiving any love from that person, you can look at he's or she's list and see what you are doing wrong. Ha! Just kidding. But I do believe that our love has limits, we are not as limitless in our love as God or Jesus Christ. If someone really hurt us bad, we will not like them anymore, let alone to love them. God and Jesus still love those who rejected them. Jesus said while hanging upon the cross. In Luke 23:34 "And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know what they do...." 

     Jesus told us to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. He said this in Matthew 5:44-46 "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶for if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" This is a great love that many of us has yet to attain. For I have seen many friends break up just over a few bad words. I even find myself harboring some bad feelings toward others on some occasions. Jesus went on to tell us in Matthew 5:48 "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." I am not perfect, so I to like many of us, am still working on my own perfection.

     Yes, I am still working own my own perfection. I am not there yet and probably will not get there until Jesus Christ returns. I will be praying a lot to God for forgiveness for my shortcomings and I will be asking others for their forgiveness if I mistakenly hurt them in anyway. I am trying to grow in my spiritual maturity as fast as I can but sometimes it feels that it will take me forever to do it. I know I need to understand more about love and I know that others do to. Knowing that we are imperfect beings who require a whole lot of forgiveness, I will try not to overly judge others if they hurt me in someway, in that way I can keep a road open for friendship. 

     Working to be loved, it sometimes feels that way. As we see in the Bible, God wants us all to give and receive love freely between us. If we feel there is a need to earn somebody's love then we are doing it wrong and they are doing it wrong if they are putting conditions on their love. Love is freely given to us by God and he wants his children to freely give that love to others, with no earning required.