"But" - Conjunction Junction 3

Quick survey.  How many of you have actually read, from beginning to end, one of those Terms and Conditions documents?  You know, the ones that come with credit cards or other financial arrangements.  You did not have to understand it, just read it.  Anyone?  Don't be shy, we won't make fun of you or comment on your obvious lack of a social life.  Promise.

Terms and Conditions are easy to mock (as are the people who write them).  The length of these documents can give any Russian novel a run for its money.  And they are not any easier to comprehend.   Yet, Terms and Conditions are required by law as a form of consumer protection.  Back in the day banks and other institutions did not have to disclose all of the ways they could terminate an agreement or expect additional fees or interest.  Now it must all be stated up front.  Granted, there are probably five people in the whole world who understand the ins and outs of these documents, still it is all there in black and white.  You know what to expect from the lender and what is expected of you.  The bank can't end its relationship with you unless you violate one of the stated terms and/or conditions.  Nor can you.  Kind of makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it (cue Barry White).

Relationships with human beings are a bit more complicated.  Aside from the occasional prenup, most of us don't spell out in elaborate detail the terms and conditions of our relationship with other people.  That does not mean that we don't have expectations (realistic and otherwise).  We do.  It is just that they are not always clear and are frequently subject to change (Hmmm...sounds and awful lot like those long winded legal documents).

What does it take to keep a couple married or cause a divorce?  What are the limits of friendship?  At what point will you disown a son or daughter, mother or father, brother or sister?  It all depends on the person and the type of relationship they want to have. For every relationship there are terms and conditions.  I will care for you, love you, but if you ever...then it is over.  That ... may be something trivial (think high school here, people, where relationships can change at the wearing of the wrong kind of socks) or it may be very serious (cheating on your spouse).  For almost all of our relationships there are limits, conditions, buts.

This includes our relationship with God.  Whether we want to admit it or not, each of us has, at one time or another, explored the terms and conditions of our relationship to God.  I will believe in you, but...  For some people the buts are not a major part of their relationship with God (they are there, however) for others it defines their relationship.  One of my favorite books in the Bible is Job in which one man's faithfulness to God is tested and tested and tested to find its limits, to discover when the buts kick in.  (If you have not read Job before I will not spoil the ending for you.)

Having buts as a part of our relationship with God is normal.  Relationships require time and energy and commitment and from time to time we ask if it is worth it.   Besides, the Bible is full of but statements attributed to God.   The writers of some books believed that God operates just like we do.  God will love and care for us, but if we are unfaithful, then God will turns us out.

The vast majority of Biblical writers, however, believed that God is not like us.  God's love for us contains no buts.  Yes, God can get disappointed, frustrated, and angry with us.  Our behavior has consequences, but there is nothing, nothing we can do or say that will cause God to stop loving us.  There are no buts.  Even when we put conditions on our love for God.

Does this mean that we don't get frustrated or even angry with God?  No.  What it means is that our calling as people of faith is to love as God loves.  Without buts.  We may not always understand God, we may disagree or question God.  That is part and parcel of a relationship.  Unconditional love does not gloss over misunderstanding or confusion.  It does give us reason to continue to work things out.