Perfect Love drives out fear. 1Jn 4:18
God has called us to relationship, a love relationship, with Himself. In 1Jn 4:7-21 the word love, loved or loves is used 26 times in 15 verses, John is truly the ‘Love’ apostle.
Much of the time the Church tends to major on doctrine and there are rules for governing the Christian life. However, Jesus said, to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind(Matt 22:37) and our neighbour as ourselves, fulfills the commandments. A life lived in love will keep all the commandments.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends(John speaks warmly to us his readers once again)since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1Jn 4:9-11
The initiative was and is with God, He sent Jesus into the world ‘that we might live through Him’, live with His nature in the world. He reached out to the world through Jesus and then gave us the grace to respond to Him.
We know that we live in Him and He in us because He has given us of His Spirit… If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 1 Jn 4:13,15, 16
God has given us His Holy Spirit to assure us that we are His children and to help us and guide us in our lives while we’re here on earth.
In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1Jn 4:17,18
The Word does talk about the ‘Fear of the Lord’, a holy reverence and awe for Almighty God, but if we truly love God and our brothers and sisters, then there should be no fear of punishment. It’s interesting that John says fear and perfect love are mutually exclusive, cannot exist together!
God wants children to share His creation with Him in eternity and the word He uses most to describe His own nature is Love. We have received His invitation to join Him, so let’s yield to the Love of God in our lives today.
God bless and keep you this day.