Ep. 43 Embrace Unconditional Love: Understanding God's Grace and Transforming Your Life

Can you imagine a love that's truly unconditional, one that embraces you without needing any justification for your past mistakes?

 In our latest episode, Krystal Jae had the opportunity to speak at a God's Love Event. She unpacks the difference between the conditional love often found in human relationships and God's profound, unwavering love. Embrace this journey through powerful scriptures like Romans 8:38-39 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, highlighting how divine love is steadfast, patient, and utterly without conditions. 

You'll hear about the timeless parable of the prodigal son—a story that beautifully illustrates God's grace and relentless love, welcoming us back no matter where we've been or what we've done. 

Explore the symbolism of the prodigal son to understand how God's love transcends human expectations and the pressures of performance. We also reflect on the elder brother's perspective, offering insights into the value of loyalty and the different lessons both brothers learned. 

This episode challenges the notion of love with strings attached and encourages you to embrace a love that's always present, transformational, and ready to be received. 

Listen intentionally as we unravel the transformative power of recognizing and accepting God's unconditional love and its ability to change lives.

Chapters

• 0:00 Unconditional Love and God's Grace
• 8:04 Unconditional Love Revised

Transcript

Krystal Jae: 0:00

Alright. So have you ever questioned whether you were truly loved, not for what you do, but for simply who you are? Maybe you've wondered if you would still be loved, even when you mess up, if love came with strings attached or if love only existed because you kept everyone else happy. Many of us have experienced conditional love, love that comes with expectations, performance or the fear of rejection, or maybe even a little bit of abandonment. Or the fear of rejection, or maybe even a little bit of abandonment. That kind of love can leave us feeling judged, lonely and afraid to be our true selves. But God's love is different. So what is love? Well, the world has many definitions of love, but the Bible defines love through both action and character. Love is kind and gentle. Love is patience and forgiveness. Love is faithfulness. Love is showing up. Love is transformational. Love is unconditional. But let's be honest for a minute minute. Does love always show up that way? Have you ever struggled to believe you were worthy of love? Have you ever been let down by someone who claimed to love you? Have you ever thought if I don't perform, I won't be loved? That's the weight of conditional love. But thank God that God's love is different.

Krystal Jae: 1:54

In Romans 8, 38, 39,. It says and I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love neither death nor life, nor their angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. God's love does not have conditions. God's love does not waver. God's love does not waver based on our mistakes. God's love is relentless. God's love is steadfast. God's love is eternal. We see this perfectly described in 1 Corinthians 13 4-7. We've heard that a lot today, right? So obviously there's a message in that that we need to hear. So again, that's 1 Corinthians 13 4-7.

Krystal Jae: 3:03

Love is patient, love is kind. So again, that's 1 Corinthians 13, 4 through 7. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. This is the love that God gives us. This is the love we are called to receive and reflect.

Krystal Jae: 3:44

So in Luke 15, 11 through 32, there's a parable called the prodigal son or the lost son. And Jesus tells this story of a young man who demands his inheritance from his father before he even dies. So it says so in Luke 15, 12,. It says I want my share of your estate now, before you die, essentially saying I'd rather have your money than have you. So his father didn't fight willfully, he just said okay, he divided his wealth between his sons.

Krystal Jae: 4:24

So that youngest son he leaves, takes the money, goes away, goes out in the streets, spends all the money partying friends, all the other things, and soon he finds himself broke, hungry, lonely, desperate and in need of money. So he goes and finds a job Feeding pigs, but when he was at home he was living a good life. So he decides he finally just realized, man, when I was at home even my father's servants had left. So he decides that he's going to go back home and he's like man, goodness, I got to go back home, I got to admit that I'm wrong. My father, he probably won't accept me, dang, this is hard, but I'm going to go home and I'm not even going to ask him to accept me to live in his home, but accept me to at least let me live as a servant.

Krystal Jae: 5:36

So when he's coming back and he's walking on his way home. His father sees him and his father starts running, filled with compassion and love, and he runs to his son. He embraced him and kissed him. So he's embracing his son, who is most likely dirty, stinky, he's broken, he's feeling ashamed. But instead he restores him by telling his servants to go get the best robe, a ramp, some sandals. And then he tells them go get the fattest things so we can have this feast for him, so we can celebrate him.

Krystal Jae: 6:32

And so then the oldest brother coming in from the fields, like what's going on? He's like the servants tell me well, your brother's back and we're celebrating, we're having a party. And he gets all mad and jealous and I'm like why you gonna do that for him? I've been here. So he goes to his father and he tells his father just that I've been here. You haven't celebrated me, you haven't let me sit here and have a feast with my friends, but I've been here. I didn't talk down on you, I didn't believe you, so why didn't you celebrate me?

Krystal Jae: 7:18

And in Luke 15, 31, 32, it says look, dear son, you have always stayed by me and everything I have is yours. Everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day, for your brother was dead and has come back to life. He was lost, but now he is found. You see, one thing that the brother didn't realize was his younger brother probably went out and he ashamed and he disowned his family and everything else. But he also experienced things that, because he was loyal to his father, stayed with his father, he didn't have to experience.

Krystal Jae: 8:04

So what the Padre sign represents is us who have strayed, failed and felt unworthy. The father represents God, whose love is patient, kind, forgiving, faithful and relentless. The father never stopped loving his son, even when he messed up. The father never made him earn his love back. The father celebrated his return instead of punishing him. This is exactly how God loves us, without conditions, without hesitation, without limits.

Krystal Jae: 8:42

So maybe you felt like the profitable son, like you messed up too much for God to love you. But you have to earn his love through performance. But you're only worthy if you keep everyone happy. But God is the father who runs towards you arms open, saying you were never disqualified, my love. You were never too lost. You were never disqualified, my love. You were never too lost, you were never too broken. I love you completely, unconditionally and forever.

Krystal Jae: 9:19

So Romans 8, 38, 39 reminds us nothing can separate us from the love of God. So maybe you struggle to believe in this kind of love. Maybe you've only known love that leaves when you fail. But today God is reminding you you don't have to earn his love, you don't have to perform for it, you don't have to be perfect, because his love is already yours. It's patient, it's kind, it faithful, it's transformational. If you are still carrying the weight of conditional love, always feeling like you have to prove yourself, take a moment and answer this question Are you ready to receive the love that God freely gives, a love that is patient, kind, relentless and reckless? So let this song remind you that God's love has always been here, waiting for you, Because his love is unconditional. So, no matter where you've been or what you've done, god's love for you has never changed. It never will. So will you receive it today?