“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 4:18
We live in a world full of fear. Fear sells and our newspapers, TV, online media, and social media all want to sell us fear on top of fear. Don’t buy it! It’s not that there aren’t serious and even truly dangerous issues and situations in our world. Of course there are. But don’t let them cause you to live in fear.
Love is the antidote to fear. Not raw self-discipline, not false bravado, not cruelty, and not anger. Those might mask fear, but they don’t cure fear. Love is the true and lasting antidote to fear. As followers of Jesus, we have more than enough love available to push out all the fear we might feel.
”For God so loved the world, that He gave His own Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). God’s infinite love was expressed through sending His beloved Son Jesus into this world to die as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. God’s faithful love is more powerful than all the evils of this world because God’s faithful love has already defeated those evils at the cross.
Let God’s love for you, a love proven at the cross of Jesus, drive out any fear that might be holding you back from living the life of obedience to Christ to which you have been called. Let yourself be perfected by the love of God within you. Become an agent of God’s love rather than the world’s fear, abundantly loving everyone you encounter. Enjoy, experience, express, and share God’s love that drives out all fear!