Undeserved Love

Undeserved love also brings with it the possibility of being shamed. From the great chasm that lies between what we are and what those who love us think we are rises up a fruitful and challenging embarrassment, especially when it is they who glimpse our true calling long before we ourselves can see it. The German philosopher Nicolai Hartmann says that someone who is loved this way is "pushed beyond himself." In this sense, love becomes a clarion call to transformation -- the transformation of human nature made possible through the sacrifice of Christ.

This aspect of love -- that it urges us to be better than we are, to grow into what God intended us to be -- explains how the person who loves us most can also be our best critic. It is because he or she wants our life to be truly good. Thus, the true lover forgives rather than excuses our human failings. The distinction is an important one. In excusing, he pretends that something bad did not happen after all. In forgiving, he affirms that it did indeed happen and that he hopes and prays we will come to recognize this fact and repent.

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness
by Paula Huston

I never thought of that concept before ... that someone who is undeservedly loved is pushed beyond himself. But that is exactly what God does with us. Fascinating ... and humbling.