Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
Scary times!
What will the year 2011 bring? What Perhaps it will bring Jesus; return. But if
not, will it be a year of anxiety, dread or despair for me? It need not be, even
though the mountains should quake.
After Adam and Eve sinned against God they tried to hide from Him. Of course,
such is impossible then and now. When God asked them why they were trying to
hide, they said that they were afraid (Gen. 3:10). Fear was a very unpleasant
new experience for them, one of many. The world would never be the same for them
or for their future descendants. It would never be the secure home it had once
been.
It greatly helps those who determine to live by faith to learn well the lessons
about fear in the Bible. For example, if you see a Christian who is always
worried and fretful, filled with anxiety and the turmoil it brings, then you see
someone who has not learned to trust in the Lord as he or she ought. Jesus
assures us that God knows our needs and that we ought not to be anxious about
them (Matt. 6:25-34).
And further, the Scriptures affirm that “God is love, and the one who abides in
love abides in God, and God abides in him” and also that “perfect love casts out
fear.” (1 John 4:16-19). There is much to be said for the personal confidence
and peace of mind gained by one who is walking by faith as a loyal child of the
everlasting Father. This is good for the soul and involves living according to
God’s word. The Bible says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3). Perfect
love does these two things: it keeps the commandments of God and it also casts
out fear.
Be prepared for anything. That is the solution to living in a fallen world.
By Jon W. Quinn
The Front Page
From Expository Files 17.12; December 2010
