“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].” (1 John 4:18 AMP)
REFLECTION
I once heard a child crying loudly and went to investigate to see if I could help. I found the mother scolding him for not following the rules. She used the word punishment and angrily told him that she doesn’t like him because he was not being good. This incident saddened me because fear of punishment was put in the place of love. Of course, correction is important, but the person being corrected needs to be reassured that the reason why they are being corrected is because they are loved. For example, if a wild child kept insisting on running across a busy road when the traffic light was red, then obviously any caring parent would correct that child so as to keep the child safe.
Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and the scriptures make it clear that in His love He corrects us (see Hebrews 12:6). If we don’t know that we are loved, correction can feel cruel. We certainly can’t muster up love on our own, it’s a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). So let’s ask the Lord to help us grow into a sufficient understanding of His love.
PRAYER POEM
Loving Lord, I cannot experience love without You, so I ask for a deeper revelation of Your love and that You enable me to live a life of love and compassion, with a passion for The Great Commission.
