Chapter 1
Waking up

Awake, O sleeper!
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.7

This life could be over for any of us in an instant. Any one of us could die today. How have you spent your life? Did you do what you were called here to do? Soon, very soon, you will meet your Maker. You will be accountable for the life you lived.8 What mattered here for you? What do you want to be remembered and be held accountable for?

Many of us feel called to truth. We saw that the comforts of this life were fleeting. That we could live for something more meaningful, more endearing, even eternal. Our life is our gift to God, our fellow man, and ourselves. How will you use what you have left?

To choose to devote your life to the goal of Loving Without Conditions is the ultimate aspiration to achieving one’s life potential and untapped greatness. The beauty of the teaching of Jesus is that it is a self-fulfilling plan. It affects every aspect of our life and enhances it. Not only are we aligning with the Laws of Divinity but we are also realizing the greatness that previously lay dormant inside us. To transform on the ‘inside’ changes and expands our experience on the ‘outside’. Transformation undeniably involves personal revelation. However, it cannot help but touch all of humanity in the process, as the power of loving freedom in the individual is beyond the measurable domain. We are living in the wake of the transformation from those who came before us.

The author’s experience is that the awareness of spiritual reality lies dormant and hidden inside until inspiration comes by grace. The account in this book is from personal experience.

In order to discern what is aligned with God and what is not, ask yourself, “Does this bring me closer to Christ?” The over-arching desire for the writer is to know, serve, and love Christ, and all that is Holy. From this walk comes the fruit of this little book. The intention is not to be academic in this endeavor, but to be clear and concise with what I have found leads to the Presence of God.

We are inspired by God Himself to pursue Him. It is a gift that is shared out of joy. Should you decide to follow this path, your life will change in wonderful and unforeseen ways. Gratitude arises due to the love felt. It is pleasant and makes life pleasant. It is filled with joy and makes life enjoyable. To get to a place of living in joy requires strict determination and resolve.

Alongside the inspiration to serve Christ, sometimes God bestows spiritual gifts. The writer has experienced these. Perhaps as a response to extreme devotion or a need in the world. The gifts happen of their own. Do not seek them. Rather, seek to be a steward of what you are to the best of your ability. Gifts serve as inspiration and proof of God’s love for us, but they are not always helpful or necessary. I dedicate this work to God’s love for you. It knows no bounds.

If you want to love without conditions it takes abundant dedication and devotion. It can be done, but it has to be a primary focus. The reward is greater than you can imagine. If you are inspired to take this path, it’s likely because it is God’s will for you. You can be thankful for that.

Being unconditionally loving doesn’t mean being a perfect being. You might be rather silly, yet loving without conditions. All things have their place. The state of unconditional love simply means that our expression carries a greater context, a wider vision is carried by our lives. We see the innocence and lovability of those around us, including within ourselves. We tend to be present for others. We tend to be more patient. We carry the Spirit of God with us because we bow to that, our Maker. We can more readily be a catalyst for healing and a balm to this fractured world. We know that what we can’t accomplish, the Spirit of God can. What greater honor could there be than in serving the Lord God Almighty… that Whom created us and is the storehouse of all splendor.

We will have accidents, upsets, confusion, disruptions and more. However, we will see the value in peace and love over our selfish ways of being. This path means turning to God, instead of turning solely to our limited minds. When this is achieved and becomes routine, true loving without conditions is present. And this is our gift to God. Our life becomes a prayer for all creation.

Do you feel called to be holy? Then you must be willing to give everything. You must be ready to even lose everything. It is a humbling process, this path. This is the way of greatness. It is in being small, in the ego sense, that we can know the greatness of our Lord. How so? It is simply for the fact that as long as we think we know, that we are in charge, the limited aspects of the human being will be blocking the splendor of the Lord that is ennobled in the human being through the process of surrender and transformation.

The act of declaring one’s commitment to loving without conditions will reprioritize everything in your life. We are no longer living for this world but for something beyond it. A way of framing the pathway differently is by using the word beauty. Beauty is synonymous with this path. To intend to see the beauty of all life is also to love without conditions. To see beauty in all of life means letting go of judgements and positions about what life is, and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal true vision.

The Bible verse, “as you do unto the least of these, you do unto Me”, is a statement of truth. All of life is Life. There could not be life unless it came from God. The Alpha and the Omega are not porous like a sponge. It pervades all. It is the prerequisite for life to be. And that is why intending to see the innocence and beauty in all life will reveal the holiness of life. Jesus said that loving our neighbor was as important as loving God. We may not like our neighbor’s deeds, but their life is sacred to us nonetheless. Holy vision is a gift of loving without conditions. We ask God to help us, to replace our limited way of seeing.

If you only love those that love you, what credit is that to you?9 If we want to know the Lord, we must die to self and rise in love. The Lord is everywhere. There’s no place you can look or be that you will not be in His Holy Presence. I’m writing very directly to you: the Lord is among us now. The Lord is closer than your hands and feet. May we act accordingly.

It is in the giving up of that which stands in the way of love, namely our limited judgements and positions, that we will come closer to the Lord and offer this world the healing balm that it so desperately yearns for. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights.10

Here’s the trick to loving unconditionally. It’s not in the doing. It’s not in the trying even. That route is slow and can be very baffling. Instead, we allow love to arise naturally by getting out of the way. Remember, if we paint over rust, the rust will win out sooner or later. Changing the exterior is temporary and not a change of being necessarily. Look to the blocks to love that you carry, that’s the fast route. Love is already always present. We don’t have to try and create love. We will discuss the “how to” for removing the obstacles to the state of being called love as part of this book. When this process begins for you, it will take some diligence. Eventually, it will become a way of being. Love perfects itself. It wants to strive and grow and bless. At that point, the purpose that Christ gave us is close at hand. We want to be prepared to die well. Let us get to work today. Let us set the intention to serve the Lord.

Life took a completely different turn when I found this path. The inspiration came by grace. For some, it comes after a period of suffering. For me, it seemed to come out of nowhere. Typically, we won’t choose to change or to surrender to something “higher” of our own will. My life prior, upon looking back, seemed like I was sleepwalking. But with this path, a whole new dimension opened. Many changes took place. I was not considered very creative prior, and that changed. I became more animated as a person. I was happier. I even became a smarter student; the way my brain functioned was different. I’ve since written over a thousand songs, whereas I struggled to write a single song before. Music has been a healing boon to my walk with God, allowing my heart to express itself through the innocence of art.

This path has brought tremendous meaning to my daily existence. Life is new every day and each day brings fulfillment. Every day is motivated and supported by love. This love has no end. Those of us who follow Christ are inspired to love and to perfect that love. Thank you God for the inspiration to surrender this life and to serve Thee in love.

Are you...