December 11, 2020

“The Power of Love”

All of us have fears.  Some fears are good, others are not. Good fear guides our fight or flight responses. Bad fear is imagined, debilitating and irrational. It keeps us from doing what is positive.

Common human fears include the fear of failure and shame, rejection and abandonment, change and loss, and the big one, the fear of the unknown regarding death, eternity and judgment. 

Recently, when thinking about our fears, I turned to 1 John 4:17-18 where it reads:

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

John was writing to believers who were afraid of the coming judgement. While I might dismissively identify their problem as a “spirit of fear,” I think their real issue was an incomplete understanding of God’s love. As John clearly states, if a believer fears God’s coming judgment, it is evidence they have not “fully experienced God’s perfect love.” I look forward to sharing with you what God’s been showing me from these two verses.

I hope to see you online or in-person!

pastor jamie