God's Love ISN'T Unconditional!

     One of the most common statements I hear preachers making is that "God's love is unconditional."  I must admit, I have made that statement several times myself.  Why would I make such a statement?  Well, I heard a lot of other preachers make the statement and have read a lot of stuff in the Bible that seemed to back up that concept.  But is God's love is really unconditional?
     I am grateful that we have come along way from every sermon being "fire and brimstone," "turn or burn," "get right or get left,"  kind of messages.  Most preachers today (popular ones anyway) no longer preach with a "God is mad at you, but if you beg him for forgiveness he might let you into heaven" attitude. It appears that we are getting a more accurate picture of the Love, Grace and Mercy God has for us.
   With that said, I feel like we can go too far with statements like "God's love is unconditional."  First lets define unconditional: "not limited by conditions."  Here is where it gets tricky.  David said that God's love is "as vast as the heavens."  He also said that God's love is "unfailing."  But I believe it has conditions:

#1 God's Character

God's love is unfailing because he is unfailing.  His love is faithful because he is faithful.  David goes on to say that his "faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds."

As humans we fail all the time.  We are extremely unfaithful.  We are incapable of showing "unconditional love."  Human love is limited, because human beings are limited.  Human love has conditions.
God's love is conditioned by his character.
John tells us something about God's character, "God is love."
David tells us that all of God's creation experiences his love to some degree.  "You care for people and animals alike, O Lord."  David also tells us that all humanity experiences God's love to some degree, "All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings."

Does God love every human being regardless of condition? Absolutely!  

I believe that the conditions don't limit the amount of God's love but our experience of that love!

In the Old testament Jews experienced more of God's love than Gentiles because of the condition of the covenant / law.

#2 His Son

In the New Testament followers of Christ experience more of God's love than non-followers because of the condition of Jesus' death on the Cross!  Paul tells us in Romans 11:17 that gentiles can now experience the blessings God promised Abraham and his children. 

#3 Our FAITH

Paul tells us that it is through our faith that we are made right with God.  It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we experience salvation.  It is through faith that we experience relationship with God.  It is through FAITH that we experience more of his Love!

#4 Our OBEDIENCE 

Every time the Bible expresses a promise of blessing (e..g. If you, then God) it is a condition to our experiencing more of the Love of God through his blessings upon obedience. 

I realize that this is a fine line to walk.  Paul also told us that salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done.  God blesses us because of his goodness not ours, but yet he clearly communicates to us that he rewards our obedience.

I feel like I am in the "extreme middle" on this issue.  There are extremes on each end that I believe do not honor God.  The one extreme is a thinking that we are constantly striving to be good enough to "earn" God's love.  The other extreme is thinking that our actions are irrelevant because "God still loves me."

My understanding of God's love is constantly growing.  I challenge you to examine your pre-conceived ideas about his love.

Let me know what you think.  Is God's love unconditional or conditional?