A Mystery

Here is a mystery: God loved us whilst we were still His enemies.
That is to say, He lavished us with kindness and goodness while we were yet still hostile to Him.
In fact, it is also written that He drew us to repentance through His goodness.
Meaning, before we even agreed to be in a relationship with Him, He poured His heart into us through good deeds.
He gave the best to us when we were aggressively antagonistic to Him.
It appears to me that even before we knew Him or understood His plan, He richly bestowed His love upon us.
Thus, love begot love: we love Him because He first loved us.
It is through the strength of His love that we can love Him in return.
Therefore, He bids us to love as He loves. He bids us to give of our substance to those we love, even before they consent to love us back.
It is in this context that we say love doesn’t depend on reciprocation, but rather, reciprocation depends on the nature of the love given.
Herein lies a mystery.