1 John 4:18 (NLT)
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
I had occasion to reflect on this passage recently in a
group conversation with other pastors.
We were talking about how God transforms people by His word. I remembered that in my pre-Christian, young
adult life I was mastered by fear and anxiety and I lacked peace. I had plenty of reason to be uneasy. I had drug and alcohol habits and because of
that I participated in risky behaviors.
Bills went unpaid. Tags went un-purchased. Insurance lapsed. I lived with a constant dread that this would
be the day I would come home and find that my electricity had been turned off
(more than once it was). Driving down
the road I was afraid of being pulled over with contraband. My life happened in an atmosphere of stifling
fear.
In 1987 everything turned around. Dallas Willard said, “I have discovered God’s
address; it’s at the end of my rope.” At
the end of my rope I found grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. I trusted him to forgive the sin of my past
and began to experience a new kind of life (2 Corinthians 5:17). His perfect love expelled the fear that
dominated my life, just as this verse says.
Even now, I can drift away from what I know is true in
Christ. But I can’t stay away. There is no peace outside of Him. It is hard to express the way that Jesus has
revolutionized my life. But I can say this: I am so grateful for the life I have
now, and it is absolutely and completely because He is life and there is no
life away from him.
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