Some Lesson Zen

I just sat down to read the new lesson and couldn't even get past the Golden Text. It is from 1 John 4:19 - "We love him, because he first loved us." The obvious implication here is that because God loved us from the beginning, we love him in return. Sure, sounds good to me. Then I thought, "Hmm, why is it that God loved us first?" Perhaps because He loves unconditionally, "as the sun shineth" or "as the stove giveth off heat"; God does not choose whom He will love today based on who is naughty or nice. He is not Santa Claus. So He loves us and we love him in return. So how many relationships do we have where we are waiting for the other to love us? I know I have plenty. It is plain to see that those relationships, in our minds, have conditions on them for how much love we put into them. Reaching back to Sunday School, we know God is Mind, right? Looking at the previous statement about conditional relationships, we see the conditions only arise in our "minds", not the one Mind. "Resolve things into thoughts" Mrs. Eddy writes, and I think this is true of relationships in particular. Parent-child, best friends, romantic, worst enemies, all of these relationships have conditions on them and that is what holds them back. Not getting along with a parent or child? Spouse got you down? Do you really not like that guy from down the hall who is sketchy beyond belief? All of this stems from not holding that person and your relationship to them in the highest spiritual sense. So today, I'm going to see who I have put conditions on for expressing my love towards and try to fix that in my thought. It could just be the little leaven that leavens the whole lump. Time to start the responsive reading!