Perfect Love

1 John 4:18a “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…”

Continuing on the same subject of love after the post Fountain of Love, I wanted to reflect on the love of Christ and the love of His apostles. Christ was not afraid to reach out and heal the blind, the lepers, the lame, the dead, and the demon possessed. He was not afraid to sit in the house of sinners and be a Physician to the spiritually sick. He was not afraid to enter the synagogues and have people disagree with Him, revile Him, hurt Him, or try to entrap Him. His love is perfect and He gave us a model that we can strive to emulate.

His apostles also took to the streets preaching the Gospel with all manner of boldness without fear for their lives. Putting ourselves in their shoes for a moment: no doubt the evil one would have whispered in their ear that people intended them harm, hoped to imprison them, beat them, kill them, and run them out of the city. No doubt the evil one would have whispered they will get sick from the sick people, die by shipwreck, or wither away in prison if they kept up this preaching. But the love of God was being perfected in the apostles that they cast out that fear, they refused to listen to the father of lies, and they preached the Gospel to those who needed to hear it. They established the church all around the world despite the persecution and hardship.

Though we are not nearly as persecuted in the Western world as the early church was, we are still subject to those same fearful thoughts that would attempt to drive a wedge between each other and our relationship with the Lord. If I talk to that homeless person asking for help, will they try to hurt me or rob me? If I share the Gospel with this person, will they mock my faith? If I pray at the dinner table with friends, will they think less of me or make it awkward? These are all thoughts that the evil one might whisper to us in order to spread fear in our hearts. The devil wants us be afraid, divided, and ineffective.

We must remember that God has given us a spirit of power, love, and self control, not of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Jesus repeatedly tells people throughout the Gospels “do not be afraid”. In fact, the Bible has hundreds of verses instructing us not to be afraid or worried or dismayed. If we are afraid of what people will think of us, if they will judge us, or if we think of all the negative what-ifs that could happen, then our faith will be immobilized. Instead, we should give our fears to God, cast our anxieties on Him, and lean into His peace.

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”