No Fear Here (1 John 4:17-18)
“By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:17-18)
When crime rises, so do gun sales. When storms brew, shelves empty. When terror raises her voice, news ratings are raised with her. Behind each of these events lies a fundamental factor - fear. Do we not all know fear? The butterflies in our stomach, the frog in our throats, the knocking of our knees - all symptoms of a primordial terror. Fear melts the hearts of men as fire to a candle and leads us to foolish and fretful decisions that we would not otherwise make when well composed. Behind fear lies punishment, and behind punishment lies a guilty conscience. The fearful soul knows that God is justly angry with their sin, and the same fear that drives men to all sorts of self-preservation is no different than the wicked who “hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Rev. 6:5)
Love does not know of such. The trials of today are not shadows of the judgment to come, for love delivers the beloved from the day of judgment. The blood of Christ both cleanses our conscience and certifies our adoption as sons. Suffering issues forth from the hand of a loving, heavenly Father, not from a just Judge. Every problem, every pain, every pandemic is made lighter by the love of God towards us. Behind his strong hand is a loving touch. Can God lash out at those whom He loves? Can he push away those He purchased by the blood of Christ? Can He judge those whom He has already judged through Christ? No, no, and no. There is no reason to be fearful today. As fear rises in our hearts, let us stem its rise through the abundant love of God. Let the love of God perfect us as the world is falling apart.
