Real Hope: A Study of 1 JohnSample

Are You Really In Love?

That’s a weighty thought: ‘there’s no fear in love’. Being ‘in love’ we often link to romance, and can see all kinds of fear in it: do they really love me for me? Will they leave me? What if I mess up? Will I ever really find love?

However, if we think about the fact that God is love (1 John 4:8), this verse reads as, ‘there is no fear in God’. He is the full embodiment of perfect love, and there’s no fear in it. Unlike your spouse whose love can be tainted by a harsh word or an ill-timed truth that leads to division, God’s love is unrelenting.

His love ‘drives out fear’. Like a glass of water mixed with cordial, if you continue to pour in the cordial (the perfect love), no matter what water was in there to begin with,eventually it’ll all be sweet syrup.

If we carry lingering fears – beyond the kind that makes you check before crossing the road – there’s a part of us that isn’t yet fully immersed in His love. It’s a lofty goal to be completely fearless, but we can get closer to it the more we find our sense of security in Him. And as we do, that fearless love we’ve encountered will begin to affect those we love too. 

Today, I pray God would show us the fears we carry. As He does, ask Him to show you His love, and let it correct them. 

written by LAURA BENNETT