Contemplative Bible Reading

Judges 16:15-16 (New International Version 2011)

¹⁵ Then she (Delilah) said to him (Samson), “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” ¹⁶ With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

Delilah is attempting to manipulate her husband Samson. She tries one of the oldest, most used even to this day ploys:

If you really love me, you would fill-in-the-blank

There isn’t much new when it comes to how we can twist and turn and nag and generally become a pain to those we love. This is the epitome of conditional love.

It is a shame that we use the word – love – for how we feel about people and things and then use it for how we feel about God. In Greek, there are different words for the different types of love, but in English we have one word. That makes it easier for us to twist and turn and nag God. That makes it easier for us to say things like,

If you truly are a God of love, you would fill-in-the-blank

We’ve heard phrases like that so much, they come naturally. We see conditional love everywhere, hear that God is love, and conclude that God’s love is conditional as well. Is there any other kind?

God, thank you for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for loving me when I stumble and when I glance away at something else. Help me learn to love in he same manner.