Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

1 John 4:18 Their is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear has punishment; and he that feareth hath not been made perfect in love. There is so much misunderstanding in religion. All of us have a religious attraction. However, it often leads to being enslaved to unbiblical ways. Much of this is driven because of a fear of God. So, we try to accommodate the fear. It is biblical to fear God, but the god we fear must be the god of the bible. The fear spoken of in this passage is a different type of fear. God is love. His love is one of the greatest forces. “God so loved the world that He gave…”; His love destroyed the powers of darkness; His love is patient with us; “How numerous are Your thoughts towards me. If I were to number them, they would be as the sand of the sea (that’s love). Are we afraid of the ones that love us? No. I enjoy hearing about Tad Lincoln. He would barge into the president’s meetings and run up to him. No fear. So, God loves us. It’s difficult for us to grasp this love. We’ve had lives in which we didn’t receive love. We understand it cognitively, but emotionally we have a difficult time receiving it. As we grow in Christ, the less our fear is present. He often uses loving people to teach us. I’ve had wonderful people that were good to me. They have helped shape my concept of love. Lord, thank You for Your love. Help us to grow deeper in it daily. Help it to drive out fear