by Edyta Tehrani

Created on: January 20, 2011

Unconditional love, means loving without proverbial strings attached. It does not mean that we do not expect anything in return for our love, but that we do not expect anything except love in return. This is the same kind of love that was described by apostle Paul in the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter thirteen.

" Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though i have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love, suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."

The key phrase here is "does not seek its own," and we may add that unconditional love does not seek only its own interests. When we love this way, we do not say that I will love if you buy me things I like, or if you do only what I like you to do. Love that is truly unconditional puts the loved one first without any conditions, and without manipulation.

What happens when you find out that someone loved you only for the things you have or do for that person? You feel betrayed, and you feel this way because you desire that people love you for who you are. We all want to be loved this way. This is the kind of love we were made to enjoy, though some people believe that it is impossible to love this way.

However, there are many examples of this kind of love. Most mothers would not think twice to give their own life away if it could spare the life of their child. In recent Arizona shooting, a man covered the body of his wife with his own, thus saving her life and losing his. He did not have anything to gain from this act, except saving the life of the one whom he truly loved.

Just because there are people who love conditionally,  and their number is growing, does not mean that there is no unconditional love. The only satisfaction we should get from loving is to see the ones we love happy, and being loved by them; which in turn brings us happiness.

Let us strive for this kind of love. It is very sad when people cannot give or receive unconditional love anymore. When a friend does not want to have anything to do with you, just because you did not say thank you for kindness in the way she expected, or when someone thinks you owe them because they gave you something. Whatever we saw, that we will eventually will reap. If we want others to love us for who we are, then we must love them also without expecting from anything except love.

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