There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18).
I was just reading, and when I came to this scripture it floored me in about ten different ways. I felt I just had to share it.
The next verse does give some additional perspective, saying, “We loved him, because he first loved us.” He put it all out there for us to see, without any kind of commitment or trust from us. God has no fear. He will love us no matter what, because he already just does. It was never a secret, it was never a maybe, there was never a doubtful restraint. He’s already done it: the love is there no matter what we do with it. It’s constant and eternal and trustworthy, because God has the greatest integrity and will never change. In other words, perfect love. How can we have any fear about that?
And then, the next phase sets in: we are supposed to be like Him. Which means love no matter the consequence. A lot to think about, but it feels really good right now.
