Fear vs. Love

Hi all! So, I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately-- I've written about 3 posts, and haven't published any, because they just don't seem to be flowing or coming out in the way I'd like them to. So hopefully this one goes a little bit better, because it's something God's really been showing me these last few weeks, and I'm excited to share it.

Fear.

What is fear? How do you define fear? What and who do you fear? Why do you fear? On Facebook I asked people to post and share their biggest fears. Here were a few of the answers:

In addition, but not limited to:

-Heights

-Nosebleeds

-Dolls

We fear these things for many reasons, but one being that we fear what will happen as a result of these things. (i.e. if we are near a snake, we are afraid of what they will do to us, we fear heights because we are afraid of falling and what will happen if we fall)

1 John 4:18 has been a recurring verse to me these last few weeks about fear, and I am so excited to share with you the truth that God has shown me in it:

"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."

What does this mean anyways? No fear in love? huh? Aren't we supposed to fear God? How does that all work itself out, what does that look like?

My pastor put it this way a few weeks ago: When you are a young child, you follow rules out of fear, because you do not know what will happen if you break those rules. You obey your parents because you are afraid of what will happen if you disobey them. However, as you grow, and as you come to know your parents more deeply and understand why they have those rules, you then follow those rules out of love and respect, not out of fear. This translates over to our relationship with God. When we first come to Christ, we are fearful, because we do not yet know who He is. However, as we grow and mature in truth and in understanding of who He is, and what His Word means, we know that perfect love casts out fear. We no longer need to look at God with fear and terror and trembling, but with love, because we know who He is and that we are new creations in Him.

A friend once used the analogy of a butterfly to me. Many of us sometimes think, "I'm a caterpillar now, but when I get to Heaven, I will be perfected and then I'll be a butterfly." You are a new creation, you are a butterfly NOW! Walk in faith and walk accordingly. Walk as a new creation in love and hope and faith and spread your wings now!

So then, how do we grow in our understanding of who God is so that this perfect love casts out our fear of Him? There are so many resources-- there are books, dvds, curriculums, movies, speakers, every possible resource you could imagine. But ultimately, God's Word is the truth! It is everything! It is all that we need. Something else the Lord has really been showing me is how very knowable His Word is. Often times I have thought, oh, if I just had this resource or if I had known this or this, then I would be able to understand the Bible better. God makes His Word available to ALL of us, and we can ALL know it. And by knowing it and understanding it, we can form a better understanding of who God is and walk according to that. Find comfort and joy in knowing that :)

I pray today that you would find comfort in knowing that you ARE a butterfly now, that perfect love DOES cast out fear, and that by knowing and understanding the truth, you can walk in faith with Jesus Christ!!

Blessings to you!