Love Conquers All

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:18

In the 15^th chapter of the gospel of John, the 13^th verse Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” The point that Jesus made is echoed in our focus verse today, even in the midst of the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed as He sweat drops of blood wishing that the cup of crucifixion and the separation from Him and God would pass, we see that due to His love He endured the cross and all the torment that came with it… What do you mean when you tell someone I love you? What is it that that person is supposed to understand about you and how you feel toward them? John informs us of the true meaning of love today, the fact that it outweighs fear and will cause you to become fearless… If a parent sees their child walk into a street with a  car approaching they will risk their lives to save their child, if a house is burning down a parent will overlook the flames to get their children out safely… This is the kind of love that John is speaking about today; true love gives you the ability to look beyond circumstances to fill the needs of another… To say you love someone means that you are able to look beyond the flaws; you are able to look beyond the shortcomings and open yourself up for that person… 

The greatest example we have of love is Jesus Christ death on the cross… Every drop of blood that came down His face had one of our names written on it, every time He cried out from the cross He was overlooking the pain to fulfill the need we all had… When we come to understand and realize what love is, we will also acknowledge that the word love has lost its meaning in today’s society; it is flung around from person to person like a basketball in a game… You constantly hear people saying I love you, only to see that love manifested in ways that would beg the differ. The first part of this scripture tells us that there is no fear in love; a lot of us claim to be children of God and say we love Him, but John is reminding us that if you love God you trust Him and turn your life over to Him… A lot of us haven’t and will not experience true love because we “fear” what people might say, we “fear” what people will think and we “fear” change… John is telling us today that when we overcome our fears we will then be able to experience perfect love. Another point we see about love is that as a child of God, we can’t become fearful when things don’t go the way we planned; we can’t become intimidated when the chips seem to be stacked up against us, and become fearful when storms approach our lives… The word of God has told us that trials serve a purpose in our lives and these situations, obstacles, hardships, occasions and adversities are actually placed in your life to show you the love that God has for you… John goes on to say that perfect Love casteth out fear… Fear will cast doubts and discourage you, and it will cause you to think twice or become apprehensive; this passage tells me that love casteth out fear. 

A lot of us have been held captive for far too long by fear and John says fear will torment, fear will keep you down, it will keep you suffering, and it will keep you distressed and continue to drown you in your sorrows… Notice John says “perfect love” (only the love from above) will cast out fear… You can’t waver back and forth and expect to overcome, you can’t take a step forward and take a step back and expect to grow or move forward in life… When you trust God, when you lean not to your own understanding, when you cut off some people or things in your life you will begin to see that “perfect love” manifested in your life and over time that Love that only God gives will cast out the fears you once had… To love is a process, true love doesn’t happen overnight, just as we grow in Christ we must grow in love and overcome the things that plague us and cause us to fall short in our abilities to love… Love should be your driving force to reach your goals and achieve your outcomes… Jesus was worried in the garden of Gethsemane, He was apprehensive about traveling into uncharted waters, but because of His love and compassion He was nailed to the cross; because of His love He never said a mumbling word, because of His love He hung His head, allowed sin to separate Him from His father, and was pierced in His side. His love conquered His fears and worries, your love should do the same thing. The question is, are you truly in love with Christ, or have you lost the meaning of the word just like the world we live in today?

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!