1 JOHN 4:18

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

What scares you? Do you have fears about things? Maybe heights scare you. Maybe it’s spiders or snakes. It’s not unusual to have some fears. Even Superman was scared of kryptonite, right? So, what is John talking about here?

Listen, if you are in Christ, you have the love of Christ dwelling within you. That love is perfect and drives out any fear of judgment from the Father. You are secure in Christ. There is no reason to be “scared” of being punished by God at the final judgment. Your sins are forgiven. You will be spending eternity with Him. That’s what John is talking about.

APPLICATION

Have your children ever feared you? Maybe they did something bad and knew they were going to be disciplined. They knew the rules but broke them anyway. They knew there could be consequences if caught but took the risk. Now, they are facing them. Fear is creeping in. They may even try to hide.

What an opportunity God has given you to teach this verse. You still have to be consistent with your discipline, but you have the chance to adjust that some for this purpose. Start out with how much you love them. Ask them if they believe that. Ask them if they think anything they can do could ever make you stop loving them. Tell them you never want them to fear you. You want them to be able to come to you with anything, good or bad. Your love is unconditional because your love is a reflection of God’s love for us. That’s your model for love, and they need to know that.

We should always be pointing our children and others to the love of God. His love is perfect and does cast out all fear. This is probably one of my favorite verses. I love knowing that I have no reason to fear God. Don’t get me wrong. I have an awe and respect of God. But I am not scared of Him. Why? Because of my security in Christ. I pray you have that as well.

Thank You for the love that casts out all fear. I am perfected through Your love.