Is God’s Love Conditional?

I came across the picture below on a Facebook page called ‘Christian Mothers against Masturbation’. The picture depicts two young men in the same situation, one of them being a masturbator, and the other not one. The masturbator is seen in the picture hanging on for dear life with no one to come to his aid, while the non-masturbator, who happens to be in the exact same situation has Jesus holding out his hands to help him. The first time I saw the picture, I was confused as to what my reaction ought to be. I wasn’t sure if I ought to stand with the mission of the facebook group which is to discourage children from masturbating, or if I should be speaking against the wrong depiction of Christ as was clear in the attached picture. I chose the latter. 

Source: Christian Mothers Against Masturbation Facebook Page

Many of us Christians think that way; we look at sinners, and we jeer at them, declaring at the top of our voices that God will not come to their aid come hail or storm, hell or high water. It seems we expect evil to befall sinners simply because we want to justify our belief in Christ and prove that people who sin will inevitably end up in the pits of hell. Unfortunately, that is not true. 

God’s love is not a result of who we are or are not, neither is it a function of what we do or do not do. God’s love is absolutely unconditional; He loves us because of who He is. Think about the story of the prodigal son for a moment, and try to see the story from the perspective of the father. After his son had squandered all his money, and disrespected him by demanding an early share of his father’s estate, the father welcomed him openly with hugs and kisses, and even ordered for the best calf to be killed in order to prepare a feast for him. God’s extravagant love is just the same! 

As Christians, we tend to put ourselves on a pedestal like the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son; we look out for the downfall of sinners, rather than pray for their repentance, and we tend to think God loves them less than he loves us because we are dutiful Christians. That fortunately is not the case. God’s love for all of us remains unchangeable, and he is ever willing to help out any sinner that calls on his name! XOXO