God and the Nature of Pure, True Love
Is a Deity's Unconditional Compassion Realistic in Today's Society?
Oct 6, 2009
Whether God exists is a religious question, but the nature of God and what He wants for the world hinges not on religion but on an understanding of human nature and belief.
Since humans cannot personally know God during their time on this planet, they have to form their own opinions as to whether God cares for them, whether what they are told about God is true, and how those things apply (or don't apply) to their life.
The Concept of Unconditional Love
Being worthy of love based solely upon one's existence is a foreign concept for many people. They have a hard time understanding that a being could love them no matter what they do. Even if they ignore that being, He will still love them because they are His. Not everyone believes that, of course, and even people who are devout and strongly believe in God can struggle with it, especially when they're going through difficult times.
During times of trial — illness, anxiety, unemployment, etc — many people question how a God who loves them can allow them to feel that way. Why doesn't He answer their prayers? Why doesn't he "fix" them? Theologians teach that one must come to the understanding that God's love does not exempt them from suffering, as Christians believe that God has only promised a good end to the journey of the believer; He never promised a smooth ride all the way to that end.
Humans struggle with unconditional love partially because they have so much conditional love in their lives. Friends and lovers and spouses can decide not to love them anymore, and so can parents and children and people who said they would always be there. That's the kind of love humanity comes to expect, so it's no real surprise that unconditional love is a difficult concept to understand, much less accept. The nature of true, pure love is such that many believe that human understanding actually can't conceive of it.
Evidence of Love – Does it Matter?
Seeing direct evidence of love is something that Christianity and other faiths point out. The cross is the largest piece of direct evidence in the Christian faith, but the answering of prayers, healing (both physical and mental), and the peace that many people have when they have what they feel is a relationship with God are also often considered direct evidence by many.
Whether these things are believed to be evidence of the nature of love often depends on the perception of the person. Some people will see them this way and others will not, and that's true even of believers in God. Some people put more weight on certain things than on others, and when they do this they show what they feel is valuable. What might be evidence of unconditional, perfect love to one person may be completely meaningless to another.
For those people who believe in God in some form, the concept of unconditional love and compassion can be very real. For those who don't believe, no form of evidence by itself will be enough to convince them. The opinion that they have — and whether it changes with time and circumstances — must come from their own mind and heart. What they believe about the nature of love will come from their own experiences and may change and even conflict with their other beliefs over time.
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