September 23
________________________________________PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. – 1 John 4:15-21
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In this gospel account, we get more revelation regarding perfect love. Those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God belongs to God and they have His presence in them. Since God is love, those who believe and commit to Him surely have His approval and Spirit in them. John expounds on what perfect love is in verse 17-18. God’s perfect love is manifested by sending His only begotten Son so we can all be saved and receive salvation and be reconciled with Him.
John further tells us that in perfect love, fear is absent. He also explains that when one fears, it is because of the punishment tied up to it. No wonder God says many times in the bible “Do not fear.” Fear is the opposite of love. When we fear, we lack trust in the God who is in control. Fear was a result of sin. When Adam and Eve sinned for the first time, they became fearful of the consequence of their sins, which gave birth to it. Fear is something that the enemy wants us to be in bondage to. When we become slaves of fear, the enemy can paralyze us or hinder our closeness to God. It makes us tainted and corrupted.
Another detail of the perfect love discussed in this account is that the only way we can show that we love God is that we are able to love our brother. When we claim we love God and can’t even love our brothers, we are lying and only do lip service. Shouldn’t we manifest our love to our brothers in order to prove to God that we really love Him.
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REFLECTION
• Can someone be loving and fearful simultaneously? Why or why not?