A New Transition

This Love

1 John 4:9-10 reads, "this is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into this world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (NIV) What is love? Jesus is love. His sacrifice is love. Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ [the Messiah, the Anointed One] died for us." (AMPC) That is true love. Verse 7 of Romans 5 tells us that a person will rarely die for a righteous person. Yet then in verse 8 we see where Christ died for us before we even cared to try to be righteous. This love is a perfect love. The beauty of it is, there's no fear in perfect love.

Perfect love drives out all fear. Verses 17-18 of chapter 4 in 1 John say, "in this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgement, for we are as He is in the world. There is no fear in love, instead perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love." (HCSB) So if perfect love drives out fear, why do we still live in our relationship with God in immense fear? We live in fear of failure, of dying, of never finding the one, of not being good enough, yet His Word plainly tells us that His perfect love drives out all fear. Could it be that we're skipping the part of verse 17 that says, "in this world we are like Jesus," and so we are disregarding the need for sanctification and holiness. Not living sanctified creates strongholds for the enemy, which produces great fear. Could it be that we're not praying and staying in the Word like we should, and are therefore not maturing in God's love? The AMP states in the latter part of verse 18, "he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection]"

How do we reach full spiritual maturity? We study His Word and pray. 1 Peter 2:2 says, "like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment]" (AMP) We have to continually grow into His love, otherwise we will always be afraid like babies. His perfect love will drive out all fear, but we have to live as Jesus did and mature into His love. He won't force His love on us. We have to prepare a place and let Him in.

"And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it."  They said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare it?" And He said to them, "When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.  And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there."  And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover."
Luke 22:8‭-‬13 NASB

Just as the disciples prepared a place for Passover, we must prepare a place for His love to drive out fear.