PERFECT LOVE

 

A Bible verse that I have always grappled with not quite being able to wrap my brain around it, as the saying goes, until this weekend that is.  The part that was hardest for me to understand was the “perfect love casts out fear.”

 

First, let’s think about fear.  Where do we first see fear mentioned in the Bible?  Very near to the beginning of the Bible I venture to say!

 

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife HID themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was AFRAID, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”   –Genesis 3:8-10  (ESV)

 

Take a look at WHEN this fear first entered into this world by backing up a few verses:

 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.  –Genesis 3:6-7  (ESV)

 

 

 

The garden, once a place of paradise where Adam & Eve enjoyed joy and fellowship with God, now involved the element of fear. Fear, like sin, separates us from God~

 

Adam & Eve feared that God was going to punish them for being naked so they tried to hide from God, along with their nakedness, that they suddenly feared was bad.

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Consider what we can learn about love from these two passages:

 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  –1 John 4:8  (ESV)

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  –1 John 4:16  (ESV)

 

 

Since God is equal to love let’s look at that opening Bible verse once more substituting the word God for Love:

 

There is no fear in GOD but perfect GOD casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in GOD.  –1 John 4:18  (ESV)

 

Wow~~How powerful is that?

 

 

 

Consider these passages that are examples of displaying FAITH and TRUST in God rather than fear:

 

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  –Luke 1:28-31  (NIV)

 

Mary was asked to embark on a great adventure being the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the world. Isn’t it fascinating to hear that one of the first things the angel said to her was “Do not be afraid, Mary” before announcing what was going to happen?  Mary is quite the example of embracing faith and trust rather than fear as being the chosen mother of Jesus.  With love she graciously said yes to God’s plan for her life.

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Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”  –Daniel 3:16-18  (NIV)

 

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,  and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them.They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.  –Daniel 3:26-28  (NIV)

 

Did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego let fear of standing up for God or even risk losing their life in a fiery furnace stop them from professing their faith in God?  No, they certainly did not!  Their faith and trust in God was so great that they knew He would protect them!  And if for some reason it was not God’s will, then they knew without a doubt they did the faithful thing in not giving in to idol worship.  Their great love for God was as evident as the faith and trust they had in Him!

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Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.  –Acts 6:11-15  (NIV)   

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.  –Acts 7:59-60  (NIV) 

 

Stephen was not afraid to stand up for his faith in God even to the point of death by stoning!  His love, faith and trust in God alone was greater than any other power in his life.  I find it so fascinating how similar his story is to what Jesus endured in His final days on earth.

 

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Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.  –Luke 22:39-44  (NIV)

 

 

The context of the above Scripture is on what we call Holy Thursday when Jesus, fully knowing what was to happen, once more asked God if there was some other way for salvation to come to the world.  Deep down Jesus knew the cup could not be removed from Him.  He did not face the plan with fear but rather with the love of a son for His Father, with complete faith and trust in fulfilling God’s plan of salvation that is offered to all in this world.  What an ultimate sacrifice for you and me!

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While penning and reflecting on this verse this week, I have come to conclude that I see the truth of this verse in two ways.

 

One way is that if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, asking for your sins to be forgiven, there is no longer any punishment or judgment for your sins awaiting you.  Therefore, there is no condemnation, no fear of God’s judgment because God’s genuine love is present with salvation.

 

The other way is as a believer, continually communing with God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit we have nothing to fear!  God is love and we have the victory in Him.  Fear does not rule our lives; fear is from Satan!  With God, we can dispel that fear as we continually exercise our faith and trust in God and God alone!

 

 

I have heard it said that the Bible mentions “Do not be afraid” 365 times!  Upon a little further research it appears that might not be exactly true but if you add in other phrases that talk about fear or worry the number does increase.

 

Regardless of the exact number of times, I encourage you this week to reflect on these thoughts:

 

Day by day,

one situation at a time,

strive to cast out fear……

Have faith and trust in God!

 

How you ask?

 

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. –2 Timothy 1:7   (ESV)

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.  –Psalm 5:11  (ESV)