Unconditional...

Have you ever seen or experienced something so exciting, so amazing, so unbelievable that it just took your breath away? And when you finally caught your breath, you could hardly stop talking about what you saw or experienced? Of course you have, everyone has at least one defining moment like that. Our ability to experience these moments, these blessings are what sets us apart from all of God's other creations in this world. For instance, my cat Gonzo..... actually, nevermind. thats a bad example. Gonzo doesnt express any emotion other than laziness. Switch to my dog, Vince. Vince can get really excited when he sees me going into the pantry for his food. And when i reach for his dog treats, his tail wags so vigorously, i swear i could probably use it to buff the wax off my mustang! We as humans can get excited about things like food, too. wanna see me or Cesar get excited? start talking about food. But, what makes us different is that we can interpret events and tag them with meaning to produce an intense emotional high. see, Vince will never respond emotionally like we do when we see Mexico score a go-ahead goal in the World Cup Final in the closing seconds. Why? Because its what God made us to do. He made us to respond to His blessings. The fact is, all things that we experience are His blessings, good or bad. He makes all things work together for our good. His Blessings trigger emotions that can be deeply moved by what we see. This is why we were always taught as kids to, "Bless those who bless us." to express thanks for the good things that others do for us. But i realized that this expression is somewhat narrow minded. we shouldnt bless just those who bless us, but we should bless everyone. we are made in God's image. He isnt picky about who he blesses, because God is in a perpetual state of blessing anyways. His being blessed is not dependent on anything we can say or do in return for His blessings. He is blessed because it is who He is. God never has a "bad day". God is totally and eternally satisfied. God’s blessings to us have absolutely nothing to do with what we do to or for Him. God is free to bless us simply because of His infinite mercy and grace.

Too many times we think of God’s blessings, favors and forgiveness in "conditional terms."See, Saturday night, i was talking to a friend whom i havent seen in over 8 years, and we've been spending a lot of
time together in the last few weeks. Saturday night, we were talking, and i could there was something she wanted to tell me, but something was wrong. she was afraid of what i would think of her, that i would turn my back and walk away from her if i knew. so, after a few minutes of prying, she turned away and looked down to the ground as if she were ashamed, and told me what she had to say, it was pretty serious stuff, and obviously i wont say what it is in respect for her privacy. she was genuinely surprised when i wanted to talk to her about it, and told her that didnt change my opinion about her, or how i saw her. i dont think she was used to that reaction, to know that i saw her for who she really is, as opposed to how she feels others see her. her past is done, and holds no bearing on the future, or her life now. she wanted to know why i felt that way. why it didnt phase me, and what it is in my life that makes me that way. that opens the door for Him to do what He does best. you see, He doesnt care about your past, or if you feel you're un-deserving of His love. His love, favor and blessings are truly unconditional, and we need to reflect that to everyone we meet in this journey we call "life". God blesses because that is the nature of who He is. He is a God who blesses, not in order to get the blessings of others, but because He himself is already blessed. And that means that no matter what is happening on any given day in the world, God will continue to work out His blessings because He is an unending fountain of blessing. we need to do what we can to show the same unconditional blessing to everyone. who can you bless today?