Jesus's love continues beyond His earthly ministry. He promised His disciples: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20, KJV). Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus's love remains present and active in believers' lives. Paul writes: "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5, KJV). We don't love in our own strength but through the Spirit's enabling.

The Transformative Power of Forgiveness in Love

One of the most challenging yet essential aspects of unconditional love is forgiveness. We cannot truly love unconditionally without forgiving freely. Forgiveness doesn't mean excusing sin, denying hurt, or pretending offense didn't happen. Rather, biblical forgiveness means releasing the offender from the debt they owe us and entrusting justice to God. It's choosing to absorb the cost of someone's wrong rather than demanding payment or revenge.

Jesus made forgiveness central to His teaching. When Peter asked how often he should forgive a brother who sins against him—suggesting seven times as exceptionally generous—Jesus responded: "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22, KJV). In other words, unlimited forgiveness. We're to forgive repeatedly, persistently, without keeping score or reaching a limit where we're justified in withholding forgiveness.

Jesus illustrated this principle through the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35). A servant owed his master an astronomical debt—ten thousand talents, equivalent to millions of dollars today. He couldn't possibly repay it. Yet when he begged for mercy, the master compassionately forgave the entire debt. But this same servant then went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a tiny fraction—a hundred pence. When this man begged for patience, the unmerciful servant had him thrown in prison.

When the master heard about this, he was furious: "Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?" (Matthew 18:33, KJV). He delivered the unmerciful servant to the tormentors until he repaid all. Jesus concludes: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" (Matthew 18:35, KJV).

The lesson is clear: compared to what God has forgiven us, any offense we receive from others is minuscule. We've been forgiven an infinite debt—eternal separation from God, the just penalty for our sins. How can we withhold forgiveness for comparatively trivial offenses? Paul echoes this: "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32, KJV). The measure of our forgiveness should mirror God's forgiveness toward us.

Colossians reinforces this command: "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Colossians 3:13, KJV). Christ's forgiveness is our standard. He forgave completely, immediately, and freely—not requiring us to grovel, earn it, or prove ourselves worthy. Similarly, we should extend forgiveness when asked, without making the offender jump through hoops or demonstrate sufficient contrition.

Forgiveness is not optional for believers. Jesus taught us to pray: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12, KJV). Then He immediately added: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15, KJV). Our forgiveness of others is directly connected to receiving God's forgiveness. Refusing to forgive indicates we haven't truly grasped how much we've been forgiven.

Forgiveness benefits the forgiver as much as the forgiven. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It creates bitterness that poisons our souls. Hebrews warns: "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" (Hebrews 12:15, KJV). Bitterness spreads like a root system, defiling everything it touches. Forgiveness uproots bitterness and frees us from its toxic effects.

This doesn't mean forgiveness is easy or that consequences disappear. Joseph forgave his brothers who sold him into slavery, but he first tested them to see if they had changed (Genesis 42-45). David wrote: "I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm 32:5, KJV). Yet he still faced consequences for his sin with Bathsheba. Forgiveness cancels the relational debt but doesn't always eliminate natural or legal consequences.

Forgiveness also doesn't require us to remain in abusive relationships or trust unrepentant offenders with opportunities to harm us again. We can forgive someone while maintaining healthy boundaries. Jesus demonstrated this when He didn't entrust Himself to people whose faith was superficial: "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men" (John 2:24, KJV). Forgiveness releases our anger and desire for revenge; wisdom protects us from repeated harm.

Most importantly, forgiveness demonstrates Christlikeness to a watching world. When we forgive those who wrong us—especially when forgiveness is costly or undeserved—we reflect Jesus's character. This powerful witness points others to the gospel. Stephen, as he was being stoned to death, prayed: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60, KJV). His Christlike forgiveness was part of the testimony that eventually contributed to Saul's conversion.

Loving Others Means Serving Their Best Interests

Unconditional love is not passive feeling but active service. It seeks the best interests of others, even at personal cost. This service-oriented love challenges contemporary culture's self-focused mindset. Where the world says "look out for number one" and "you do you," Scripture commands us to esteem others better than ourselves and to look not only on our own things but also on the things of others (Philippians 2:3-4).

Jesus defined greatness through service: "But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28, KJV). The King of the universe came to serve, not to be served. If Christ washed His disciples' feet, how much more should we serve one another?

Serving others' best interests sometimes means difficult conversations and uncomfortable truth. Love doesn't always tell people what they want to hear. Paul warns the Galatians: "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16, KJV). Sometimes love requires speaking truth that might temporarily damage a relationship but ultimately benefits the person. Proverbs says: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Proverbs 27:6, KJV).

Love also serves through practical acts of kindness. James addresses this pointedly: "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?" (James 2:15-16, KJV). Genuine love meets tangible needs. It doesn't merely express sympathy but takes action to help.

John reinforces this: "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:17-18, KJV). True love translates into action. It opens its hand to help, not just its mouth to encourage.

Serving others' best interests extends even to enemies. Jesus commanded: "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you" (Luke 6:27-28, KJV). This is perhaps love's most radical expression—actively seeking the good of those who actively seek our harm. It's impossible in human strength but possible through the Spirit's power.

Paul applies this principle practically: "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21, KJV). Meeting enemies' practical needs—feeding them, giving them drink—demonstrates love that can potentially transform animosity. "Heaping coals of fire" likely refers to the ancient practice of using hot coals to refine metal or to the burning conviction such kindness produces in the conscience.

Serving others' best interests requires discernment to know what truly benefits them. Sometimes love says yes; sometimes it says no. Parents understand this—we don't give children everything they want because we love them and want what's best for them. Similarly, loving others doesn't mean enabling destructive behavior or always accommodating their wishes. Love seeks their ultimate good, which may involve temporary discomfort or disappointment.

Consider Jesus's interaction with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22). Jesus loved him (verse 21 explicitly states this), yet He didn't give him what he wanted. When the man asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything and follow Him. The man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. Jesus didn't chase after him or lower the standard. He loved the man enough to tell him the truth, even though it resulted in the man walking away.

Serving others' best interests also means interceding for them in prayer. Paul constantly prayed for the churches he planted. He wrote to the Romans: "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers" (Romans 1:9, KJV). Intercessory prayer is a powerful expression of love—bringing others' needs before God's throne.

Practical Steps for Growing in Unconditional Love

Understanding unconditional love theologically is important, but we must also grow in practicing it daily. How do we move from knowing about agape love to demonstrating it consistently? While perfection awaits glorification, we can make significant progress through intentional effort empowered by the Holy Spirit. Here are practical steps for cultivating unconditional love in our relationships and daily interactions.

First, regularly meditate on God's love for you. We cannot give what we haven't received. John writes: "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19, KJV). Our love for others flows from experiencing God's prior love for us. Spend time reflecting on the cross, on God's patience with your failures, on His faithfulness despite your unfaithfulness. Let the reality of His unconditional love sink deeply into your heart.

Paul prayed for the Ephesians: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19, KJV). Comprehending Christ's love—its breadth (reaching all people), length (extending throughout time), depth (descending to the cross), and height (ascending to glory)—fills us with God's fullness and enables us to love others.

Second, ask the Holy Spirit to produce love's fruit in you. Unconditional love is not achieved through human willpower alone. Paul lists love first among the fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23, KJV). Love is produced by the Spirit working in us. Pray daily for the Spirit to increase this fruit in your life.

Jesus promised: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13, KJV). God willingly gives His Spirit to those who ask. Request His help to love difficult people, to forgive deep hurts, to serve when it's costly. You cannot manufacture agape love, but God can produce it in you through His Spirit.

Third, practice specific acts of love intentionally. Start with 1 Corinthians 13's characteristics. Choose one each week to focus on. If you're working on patience, deliberately practice it in frustrating situations. If you're working on kindness, look for opportunities to show kindness to people you typically ignore. If you're working on not keeping a record of wrongs, when someone offends you, consciously choose to let it go rather than rehearsing it mentally.

James writes: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22, KJV). We grow by doing, not just by knowing. Each act of love, however small, strengthens our capacity to love. Like exercising a muscle, repeated practice of love makes it increasingly natural.

Fourth, identify and repent of ways you withhold love. We all have patterns of unloving behavior—perhaps criticism, judgment, gossip, neglect, selfishness, or harboring grudges. The Spirit convicts us of these patterns. Don't defend or rationalize them. Confess them as sin and ask God to change you. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9, KJV).

Paul instructs: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:31-32, KJV). Put off the old behaviors; put on the new. This is an active process requiring deliberate choice and divine enablement.

Fifth, surround yourself with people who model unconditional love. We become like those we spend time with. Proverbs warns: "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed" (Proverbs 13:20, KJV). Find believers whose lives demonstrate agape love. Observe how they respond to difficulty, how they treat difficult people, how they forgive offenses. Their example will inspire and instruct you.

Paul wrote: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1, KJV). He could confidently invite others to imitate him because he was imitating Christ. Similarly, learn from mature believers who are further along in their journey of love. Don't just admire them from afar—spend time with them, ask questions, let their example shape you.

Sixth, extend love to the difficult and unlovable. Jesus said: "For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matthew 5:46, KJV). Loving those who love us requires no supernatural power. But loving difficult people—the critical, the ungrateful, the hostile, the annoying—requires God's grace. These relationships become classrooms where we learn agape love.

Don't avoid difficult people or relationships. See them as opportunities for spiritual growth. When someone irritates you, instead of complaining or withdrawing, pray for them and intentionally show kindness. This is how character is formed. James writes: "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:3-4, KJV). Trials—including difficult relationships—perfect us.

Finally, remember that love perseveres and never fails. You will fail at times. You'll respond selfishly, speak harshly, or withhold forgiveness. Don't give up. Confess your failure, receive God's forgiveness, and begin again. Love "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth" (1 Corinthians 13:7-8, KJV). The pursuit of unconditional love is a lifelong journey. Keep growing, keep learning, keep depending on God's enabling grace.