Devotional #7 Fear vs Faith

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."

1 John 4:18-19.

What do you believe about love? Are you afraid of it? Do you embrace it?

A big characteristic of the 'Christian' walk is love. Love one another, love is patient, love your enemies, love the Lord, love yourself, love, love, love.... and when it comes down to it, love is really a huge struggle. Love has become a flattering, passive term associated with sex, emotions, humour, and holidays. Yet, love is not an adjective, it's a verb. It's an action.

We function out of love in two primary ways: fear or faith. Simply put: In fear, we do things to please, we base our salvation out of works and deeds, we strive, we doubt, we punish our hearts with conditional lies that lay waste to our perception of God.

In faith, we acknowledge that we are sinners redeemed, we function out of relationship with God, we base our lives on holistic oneness, not partitioning off our obedience, but we are motivated simply because we cannot live without seeking deeper relationship with the Lord, and we rest the fact that we are loved and so we desire to live according to His love.

So, fear is the belief that I must do and do to keep earning love - I must or else love will end. But, faith carries me, knowing there is grace and hope, that my love comes from Christ’s love, and nothing will separate me from that love. It will always be there and so I believe that love extends further than what I can see or think or feel. And in turn, I act upon what love is. I respond to life in love, not the fluffy love, but an honest, obedient love outlined for me in the Bible.

Jesus, I need your guidance and wisdom to know what acting out of love is. Your love is greater and better than anything I can think or imagine. Help me know when I love out of fear or out of faith. Teach me your ways, your truth, and how to live as a reflection of your image and character. I love you Jesus. Amen.