“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:10

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
1 John 4:13-18
Love, Enemy of Fear
Verse 18 is about the relationship between love and fear in a person’s life. Although we are to have a healthy fear of God as well as a love relationship, these two cannot coexist as the primary motivation of our life in God. Many times we initially come to God out of fear – either fear of hell, fear of God himself, or fear of what our lives are becoming apart from him. However, as we grow in our love relationship with him, we begin to experience what John talks about in the latter part of this passage. We begin to lose our fear about the Day of Judgment as we experience firsthand the love of the Father toward us. As we internalize the truth that Jesus has taken all our punishment for us, we are freed to relate to God more and more on the basis of love. Again, we always need to maintain a sense of awe and respect for him, but experiencing his love drives out our fear of him actually doing us harm. This is the experience John is talking about in verses 16 through 18, and it should be the experience of every believer. Is it yours?

Prayer Starter:
Lord, teach me how to rely on your love for me and to allow your perfect love to drive out my fear. Thank you that Jesus took the punishment for my sins on the cross. Teach me how to believe in and receive your love in greater measure and to grow deeper in my love for you. Help me to leave behind for good the notion of serving you out of fear.