Love doesn't require an equal exchange--that's the beauty of love. Have you ever watched a brand new mom with her baby? The mom is crazy about the child and the newborn can't offer much back except an occasional bubble blown by accident. Or how about the love given from a teacher to an underprivileged student, it doesn't require an equal return. Have you observed a member of the "Sandwich" generation missing his firstborn son away at the university and at the same time caring for an elderly father neither of which are able to return love at the same frequency it is given. The point is that it doesn't seem to matter and that is good news.
Love doesn't demand an equal exchange. Love is its' own reward. A person doesn't love because there is necessarily a great ROI (return on investment). Love loves because it is gratifying to love. Did you ever wonder how God can love you, how He can put up with your failures, how He can hang with you when you seem to have so little to give in light of receiving so much? It is because He loves you. No, it is more than that, it is because God IS love. When He loves you it is good for you and it is fulfilling for God to love.
So what if we could give love in the same way that we receive it, without looking for an equal exchange before we trust, before we invest, before we give our heart? I'm not saying, we ignore godly discernment. But maybe there is someone in your circle who needs the love you have to give--but you are looking for love in return and in reality they don't have it to give. Think about it. And while you do keep soaking up the love of God. Don't disqualify yourself. When you receive and return the love, you make it twice as sweet for God. See, you do have something to give and it doesn't have to be equal.
Gary Kendall
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