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.
—1 John 1:18 NLT
The perfect love of Jesus drives out all fear. This verse clearly says that if we are afraid, we are fearful of punishment. Those who are inundated with fear aren't at peace in their relationship with God and can't experience His love. They see God waiting to punish them and demanding penance for every mistake and thought that springs into their mind. They are plagued with thoughts such as “there must be something I need to do to appease God” or “I can never be good enough to please God.”
And you know what? You can’t save yourself from the torment of sin. You can’t make mental and emotional agony from failure disappear. Only Jesus can. He became the perfect sacrifice for your sins and every failure. He paid penance once and for all time—for your past, present, and future. Only in Jesus are you freed from the torment of sin and emotional agony. His love for you is perfect and not based on your performance—what you do right or what you do wrong. You have freedom from ALL fear. BUT…understanding and living this freedom is something else. The Lord wishes to perfect His perfect love in you—to get you to the point where His love, which defeats all fear, is as natural as breathing.
You received the perfect love of Jesus the moment you believed He died to save you from punishment for sin. You received peace. You received healing. You received His promises. For you to grasp this truth, you have to allow Him to change your perception of who you are and how God sees you. God doesn’t see the failures that plague you with guilt. You don’t have to fear God. He is LOVE. He so loved you that He gave you His Son. God sees you pure and forgiven through the eyes of grace. Until you grasp the total forgiveness in His love, you will forever fight fears which accompany feelings of punishment—of not being good enough.
The love of God was perfected by Jesus on Calvary when He died for you. You can’t perfect it within yourself. You allow Him to change what you can’t. You face your fears with a decision that He will conquer them for you. You decide that God is not waiting to beat you up because of sin or failure. He is waiting to love you with His perfect love. You keep choosing to believe, and He brings Resurrection power to fulfill it.
Only the perfect love of Jesus drives out fear and gives faith to believe that God is a GOOD God. With the perfect love of Jesus continually changing your perception of who you are and who He is, faith becomes stronger in you. When you remain rooted in His love and growing in His grace, perseverance will finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. You will choose faith over fear and continually experience the peace of His perfect love.
© 2019 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2019/10/his-perfect-love.html
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