God does not come to the world in wrath and condemnation, showering devastation and distress on people who even in the best of times live with suffering and the knowledge that death will come. God does love the world, God is even passionate in that love for the world, for you, for me. But passion involves risk. Everyone who has ever been in love knows that. Inauthentic love seeks control, as when a possessive parent holds onto a child long after it is time for letting go.
Authentic love is precarious and risks rejection.
Authentic love leaves room for the one we love to respond in freedom, on their own. When we love another we throw ourselves open to them, we become vulnerable, we risk being rejected and hurt. And when we love another we do all sorts of crazy things for them. One of my favorite songs by Bruce Springsteen captures this beautifully, the way when we love we will do things for our loved one that might seem so ordinary and insignificant to an outsider, but which just exactly meet the secret needs and longings of the one loved. I d drive all night, just to buy you some shoes, and to hold you in my arms .