1 John 4:18-19, There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. 

John is talking about judgment day, so to be perfected in love would be to have accepted Jesus as your savior, but it doesn’t end there. Once you have given your life to Him and you grow in your understanding of His love, faithfulness, mercy, grace, and compassion for you, the less you will fear what is going on around you. He sees it all, nothing surprises Him, and you know that He can take everything that comes your way and use it for good and His glory if you put your trust in Him and His plans for your life.

God loves you, and if you struggle receiving that fully understand that it’s the enemy doing everything He can to keep you from believing that. The devil likes to attack God’s love because if you doubt His love, then you are open to doubting everything else. It would be difficult to believe that a God you aren’t really sure loves you has your best interests in mind. Why would He help or bless you, let alone keep a promise you believe He gave you, if He doesn’t really love you? If the enemy gets you to doubt God’s love, then he already has you defeated on every other level. (Sneaky little jerk isn’t he, and he hates you so there are no limits on what he will try to keep you from all God has planned for you.)

The craziness in the world seems to multiply by the minute, and if your eyes are not fixed on Jesus, it will overwhelm you. The days we are living in require us to be intentional in our walk with God. Some Christians are falling by the wayside and believing and participating in lies that don’t come close to lining up with God’s Word, because they don’t spend time in it. The result is that not only are they believing lies, but they are also missing out on that deep connection of the relationship they could have with Him. That lack of closeness will bring with it a lack of understanding that will turn into frustration, anger, and fears that they don’t need to have.  

This letter of John’s is saturated with God and His love as well as the fact that the more filled we are with His love the more it will overflow to those around us. People are desperate to be loved, and our time is short to share His love with them, and their eternity hangs in the balance. It costs nothing to spread His love and the difference it can make in someone else’s life is priceless!