God’s love is unconditional

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8

So many of our day-to-day interactions are transactional. We swipe the card and get the product. We put in the work, and we get the reward.

As men, it’s easy to carry this same mindset into our relationship with God. We think: “If I do the right things, pray the right prayers, give the right amount, then God will bless me.”

Not only is this way of thinking about God inaccurate, but it’s also a belief that will eventually crack under the reality of life.

One day, life won’t go as planned. The rug will be pulled out from under us. The relationship will end. The call we dreaded will come. The cancer won’t be cured.

In these moments, a purely transactional view of God can lead to a crisis of faith. We either become angry with God for not “holding up His end of the bargain,” or we turn our anger on ourselves—wondering what we did to “deserve this.”

The truth is that God’s love isn’t a business deal. It’s a relationship.

He doesn’t love us because of what we do. He loves us because of who He is.

And He doesn’t ask us to trust in formulas or outcomes, but in Him as a person.

How do we do this? 

By noticing His presence, in the good and the bad. 

By coming to Him, not to barter or negotiate, but to trust in Him and to rest in Him.

By telling Him about it all—our weariness, our brokenness, our mess, and even our anger and disappointment—trusting that He is big enough to carry it.

Jesus didn’t come to make a deal with you. He came to give Himself to you—freely, fully, and forever.

Do you ever find yourself viewing God in purely transactional ways…whether as a cosmic vending machine, a vengeful ruler, or a performance-oriented task-master?

Can you let go of the need to earn His favor and instead receive His love?