The struggle to understand and embrace this kind of radical love seems to be common place among most of humanity. I sometimes reason to myself that there must be a purpose for God to love me so unconditionally; it cannot be for no reason. But this is only my self righteous attempt to feel worthy enough to be loved. I am not worthy and His love is that simple (and profound).
In a different sense, God’s love is a mystery. Certainly, my finite mind has not the capacity to grasp this agape love and I have come to understand that maybe God designed it that way for a reason. The question I want to ask is simply: what is the reason? Why would God want to design His love in such a way that His beloved cannot grasp it? Maybe the most important task or challenge here is not to labor to understand Abba’s love for me but only to allow myself to be grasped by that love. I must abandon all my attempts to earn this amazing free gift.The truth is that it is entirely possible to be possessed by His love without the element of understanding it. For many months now I have been grappling with the question of why so often in my past I have avoided the grasp of this love. Why do I go off, like the prodigal son, looking for a love which cannot possibly compare to the inconceivable, unconditional love of my father God?
One of the answers to that question is rooted in the reality that I have not known God, in an intimate way, to any significant degree. For God has made Himself known to me in a variety of ways. Knowing God and loving God (or being loved by Him) are totally inseparable entities.