Forward In Love - Tuesday January 8

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18


Is hate the opposite of love or is fear? We may never know. One thing we can be sure of, love and fear do not co-exist. No child who is raised in a caring home with a covering of love lives in fear. That child may have momentary flashes of fear, but she will not live regularly live in fear. In the same way, neither will an adult live in fear who walks in God’s love.
Where does fear come from? It comes from the expectation of punishment. As long as we think of God as our Judge and Law-giver, we will be submerged in fear. Have you ever noticed that people who seem to live in the most fear, tend to interpret the painful circumstances of their lives as things that God did “to” them. Why? They expect to be punished because they think that is the kind of God they serve. They often ask questions like, “Is this God’s way of punishing me for the things I did when I was younger?” or “What did I do wrong to deserve this?” For certain there are consequences to our actions, but please don’t confuse those with God’s heart for you. If you follow that line of thinking, you will believe in a God that takes more pleasure in punishing you than in loving you.
God’s word does not tell us that God is Judge or God is Law-giver, it tells us God is love. In the end, it was God’s love that caused Him to send Jesus to pay penalty for our sin so we could escape punishment. Once we understand God’s true nature, our fear is overcome with his love. Let today be the day you move FORWARD in love, ask God to reveal himself to you until all of your wrong pictures of who He is are gone and your fear has drowned in His love.