What’s Love Got To Do With It? (Part 3)

What’s Love Got To Do With It? (Part 3)

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭4:17‬

Boldness can be defined in as many different ways as the people you ask about it.  Some people define boldness as having bravery, or being brazen or even valiant. 

Bravery is being fearless. People confuse fearless as having zero fear. Fearless is to have less fear. Not to be void of fear. But to have less fear. Fear less. 

Many times we add “less” at the end of a verb and we immediately think it means to remove that action.  Many advertisers use this as a catchy ploy to get you to buy their product.  A dripless hose is merely a hose that, well, drips, less. Or maybe people tell you they are fearless to make you think they have no fear. Anyways, I digress. 

Our goal in our faith is not to extinguish fear. There are many things we should fear, and for good reason.  Our goal is to fear less. Fearing less brings us into boldness. Boldness doesn’t mean arrogance, or pride or over self-confidence. It means to fear less and to be bold. 

There are many things we should fear and for good reason (yes, I repeated myself).  We should fear lightning, grizzly bears and spiders.  Well maybe not spiders. But some people do.  Fear is healthy at times. It keeps us on solid ground. Too much fear and it can cripple us. Not enough fear and we can make bad decisions.   I’ve lived in both worlds. I’ve been over confident, only to have my world come crashing down around me. I’ve placed too much emphasis on one area of my life, only to fear losing that - and wondering what to do if I did. Fear can be both good and bad. It’s mostly viewed as bad. 

Boldness is a balance. Fearing God does not mean that we hide in a corner, shaking uncontrollably and sucking our thumb. Fearing God means that we understand the power that He has and the good that He is. This boldness brings us to Him, to seek wisdom from Him to make better decisions in our lives. Our boldness from fear, means we share the Truth / God’s Word, no matter our feelings, circumstances or consequences.  This boldness to bring people to know Christ. To love people the way He loved them. And to revere our God in everything we do. This is being bold and having less fear. 

The love God has for us is a model of how we should attempt to love - with mercy, grace and forgiveness based on faith, not fear. This love is to be bold. Not wavering because we are afraid to be hurt.  Or maybe there is a fear of rejection or being taken advantage of. Nothing in the Bible tells us to not love, the way God intends it, because of our fear. 

Our focus on fear can take away our focus on God.  Every single intention that God has for our life can become blurry if we become distracted with fear.  Fear can be absolutely crippling if left to itself.  Fear will bring torment. 

We will be judged by God one day. We will be judged on how we loved, how we ministered, how we witnessed and gave testimony and how we represented the Kingdom of God.  None of these things bring us to the front. It is all about God. None of it has to do with our feelings of what we wanted or what we believe is best for us. We can’t slide by, by just being good people. We are Christian’s, and as followers of Christ we are to be obedient to what our Heavenly Father wants for our lives, living in His will for us and to love others as He has loved us. Simply put, it’s not about us. 

We are not perfect. Therefor, we will never not have fear. God knows this. What we can do is love. And when we love, we can’t fear. 

We cannot have two emotions and feelings at the same time. It’s impossible. You can not be happy and sad. You can not be angry and giggly. You can do one, stop, and do the other. But it is impossible to simultaneously be fearful and loving. While you are in one emotion, you are absent another. 

This is why God wants us to love. Love takes away wrath, envy, strife and fear. 

To be perfect in love is to be bold and to fear less. And we love this way because God first loved us in this way. 

There is no other way to put it. If you want to fear less, learn to love the way God intended it. Not lovey-dovey, like the movies. Not romantically. Not physically. Not even emotionally.  Selflessly. 

Read your Bible every single day, many times. Seek God’s face. Kneel at His feet. Humble yourselves in His presence. Love Him more than anything in your life. Be obedient. And love one another. 

You want love like God wants you to have?  Then learn the way God intended it, not the way you want to feel it. 

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭4:18-19‬

“If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭4:20-21‬