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
We all have different meanings of the
word love; however, in today’s focus verse we find the true power that love contains
in its purest form… John starts off by telling us that “There is no fear in love…” When you are doing things in the authority
of love, you know that you have nothing to worry about… You don’t have to
second guess your decision nor do you have to worry about the impact that it
will have on others… The bible declares to us that God is love; so when we acting in love we are acting with God being
the center of our motivation and because of that there is nothing that will be
wrong with your actions… In the 15th chapter of the gospel of John,
the 13th 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…
You can tell when you are experiencing perfect love because it should conquer
your apprehension or ease your worry. John tells us that if we live by fear we
aren’t made perfect in love… 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 or settle for less than God
desires for us to have… Love should be
your driving force to reach your goals and achieve your outcomes… The love
you have for Christ should trump the temptations that you face, the love you
have for your brother should keep you from speaking damaging words too him or
about him… When we are made perfect in love we are walking according to the
will of God desiring to grow more and more every minute of every hour of ever
day… Again, Jesus said no greater love has a man than this that he lay down his
life for his friends… 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?
BE
BLESSED!!!
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