Everyone is looking for Unconditional Love, carrying a bag full of conditions. Love is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person. To love somebody isn’t just a strong feeling, it’s a decision, a judgement, and a promise.
Love is made up of three unconditional properties in equal measure: Acceptance, Understanding and Appreciation. Remove any one of the three and the Triangle of Unconditional Love falls apart….
The following story is an apt indication of the misconception of this Love.
A young man enlisted in the army, believing that it was his duty to serve his country. Considerable time had passed by, with him having had no contact with his family. As soon as his duties were over, the young man called his family. In that conversation, he asked his mother if he could bring a friend with him when returning home. This friend had lost his legs and an arm during combat. His face was also slightly burnt, and sadly he had nowhere else to go. The young man mentioned to his mother that the friend had actually saved his life on the battlefield. The mother replied, with hesitation, that she would need to discuss this issue with his father. The mother went on to say that it would be difficult to look after him, and that it would, in fact, be a burden to them.
The father’s response was that it was the duty of the army to take care of him, assuring his son that he could visit his friend at the barracks, with their full support and permission.
With this decision, the conversation ended.
The next day, an army officer visited the parents and informed them what had happened at the barracks. Their son had apparently committed suicide, and they were required to identify his body. With a fair amount of shock, but still feeling convinced that there was some mistake, the parents obliged. They had spoken to their son the day before and all seemed well when he had asked them to bring his injured friend home.
However, upon reaching the mortuary to complete the identification process, they cried in utter anguish, realizing that it was, in fact their son lying there with no legs, and an arm and a partially burnt face!
There are so many questions to consider in this story:
1. Was this unconditional love?
2. Would you serve and care for someone in this state?
3. If the son had known about Unconditional Love, why did he lie to his parents?
4. If a person in this condition saved your son’s life on the battlefield, would you not show gratitude and compassion, as the son had expected from his parents?
5. If the parents had known that it was their son that was injured, would it have been a burden for them to care for him? And would they pretend to love him even though he was a burden?
In conclusion I would like to leave you with this thought:
FOOLS and FANATICS are so certain of themselves, whilst wise people are filled with doubt!
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