What if God's love is without agendas?

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I was just struck by a thought expressed by http://freebelievers.com/ which stated: 

“It's nice to know that God didn't choose me to change me. He actually wanted relationship with ME, the way I am today:)” 

I have been thinking about this truth for many years now. I admit though I had not pieced it together as nicely as that one statement. About 5 or 6 years ago I began to realize that we all have agendas. We even “love” people with our own agendas thinking we know best what other’s needs. We want people to feel loved so they will come to our church, or join our MLM or anything else that in reality benefits one’s self. Love is not about our needs or desires, ever as great as they may be. Love has no agenda but, to seek what is most beneficial for the person being loved. (I know that is sort of a sloppy definition and I am reading a great book that I will do a review on in the next few weeks- months).

We often say “God loves you as you are, but will not leave you there.”  While that is true, we then insert an agenda that God wants to heal, fix, or change you in some way. I wonder, that while those things may be byproducts of God’s love working in us and through us, if God’s only agenda is to love us without any of that other stuff (especially change), attached to His love for us. God is Love. Love covers a multitude of sins.  Love builds up… these are but a few of the love verses, of which the greatest one is in 1 Corinthians 13: 

  ¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.
⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (NKJV)

Notice that love has no agenda but to love? The challenge then is to allow God to love. Be a person a drunk, gay, straight, transgender, lesbian, normal, weird, clean, smelly… you know like a real person who needs love! We all need to be loved and feel loved. We all need to feel accepted as we are in all our junk. While agendas should be set aside to give true love, true love will not leave a person unchanged or challenged. We may plant, others water, but God makes things (people) grow. Only God’s love can reach inside the hurting and damaged areas of our lives. So, what if we started loving others without agenda or need for them to change for further acceptance? What if God works best when the heart is full of His love and we get our agendas (as great as they are) out of the way and let God love others through us? Are you up for the challenge? 

If you want to further study on this topic there is an great podcast here http://freebelievers.com/podcast-info/the-doctrine-of-change