Unconditional Love

The one thing that seems to be sticking out to me since I have been here is the kind of love that is unlike any love you have ever seen or felt before. Unconditional love. That’s the kind of love that God has for me and you. Before I came here two years ago, I had no idea what unconditional love really meant, but God was able to teach me. Now, making this trip for the second time, I noticed that when people heard that I was coming here to work with these kids, many people would ask “ Well, what about the kids who have AIDS or HIV? Do you still hug and kiss them like you do the other kids, who are completely healthy?” Hearing this question made me angry, I thought to myself, ‘Why would you even ask that question, that’s terrible! Of course I would love on them just the same as any other child who is completely healthy’, because God has shown me what unconditional love is and has taught me to love as He loves me and you. It saddens me to think that people don’t know or understand what unconditional love is because that means you have no idea how much God truly loves and adores you. As I work with these adorable African children of God everyday, I see the kids who have no family and are waiting to be adopted, but are HIV positive and the years keep going by and they’re still not adopted because no one is willing to give that child a “forever family” because of the risks and responsibility that comes with caring for a child with HIV. It breaks my heart knowing that this child I love dearly, who is beautiful and perfect will, perhaps, never be adopted because they’re HIV positive.

Since I have been here, I have been reading the book called Extraordinary by John Bevere and I have been doing a bible study that coincides with the book. It’s been a fantastic read and spiritually challenging for me. In the book, John devotes a whole chapter to making sure you understand how much you are loved by God. In the book he gives this passage of scripture to study, “(God’s) love bears under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. (God’s) love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]…” 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 AMP. I think God’s love for us is pretty well explained there. Then, John goes on to say that “we can’t do one thing to make God love us any more than He already does, and conversely, we can’t do anything to make Him love us any less.” Think about that for a minute. Do you understand how much He really loves you? His love for you is unconditional and unchanging. John also explains that “God’s love for us is so all-encompassing that we simply cannot comprehend its scope.” God is truly amazing and He adores you.

So, with that, I pray that we would learn to love as Christ first loved us and I pray that the children who are HIV positive, with no family, will be adopted by a loving family someday soon.

-Melanie