The Widow Maker - Pt 2

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. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19 ESV).

We return to a portion of yesterday’s reading to continue our exploration of the “casting out” of fear from our lives. Sometimes it is an internal condition that prompts our fear. It may be your guilt over some habitual sin that has driven you to fear rather than trust in the finished work of Christ. If that’s where you find yourself, please know that it is not a matter of the strength you have to hold on to Jesus; but, it is His strength that holds on to you. At other times it is an external event or circumstance that causes your fear. For those of us who find these things bringing our anxiety to the forefront, there are some very important truths to learn from the Scripture. First, we should look at the truth that there are many times in the Scripture when we are told that we should fear. That may cause some confusion. The problem is not so much a disagreement between the authors of the Bible, but rather the problem is how the same author can say on the one hand, “Fear!” and on the other hand, “Have no fear! Be confident.” The solution will, I think, be found in the suggestion that a sober fear of God will motivate us to trust his mercy shown in Christ and this “trembling trust” will then gradually remove the fear that drove us to it as we see more clearly what our Lord has done for us. The Anthology of George MacDonald give us some helpful insights. He points out that absolutely nothing less than perfect love (both from God toward man and man toward God) should cast out fear. We are prone to want to be rid of fear at any cost, by any means. John says there is and should be only one means, perfect love for God should cast out fear. We think we will be better Christians when we stop fearing. That may be false. We will be better Christians when we love God the more for his perfect love. The perfecting of love necessarily drives out fear, but the driving out of fear does not necessarily mean that love is being perfected. We may wish to be rid of fear in the same way we wants to be rid of a bad conscience and we may use all the same deceptive means to do this (ie. alcohol, drugs, or immoral pleasure). The key then becomes God’s undeniable love for us; not our vacillating love for Him. I have often said, and mean to say, that I do not fear death. I fear dying. However, when I grasp the truth that dying is merely the conduit to life it allows an entirely different perspective. Let’s say you suffer unspeakably for a hundred years; what is that compared to eternity? With every day that passes, we are one day closer! God loves you. Let that simmer in your heart. Fear is cast out by His love.