We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first.
Verse 18 had me thinking a
lot, as I listened to how the Holy Spirit explained it.
1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
This passage can be interpreted from various angles.
Our Father loves us. He only has good intentions for us. The fact that
He loves us and will be kind to us drives fear away, since He is going to be
patient and kind, and possesses all the characteristics described in 1
Corinthians 13:4-7.
If we love Him as He loves us, we will be obedient and have no reason to
fear His discipline (punishment). Jesus used words similar to John 14:21
several times in John chapters 13 to 15: "Whoever has my commands and
keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." Do you think it
may be important to Jesus if He put so much emphasis on it?
Therefore, the one who fears probably doesn't love God enough to live in
perfect obedience to Him, and therefore has a reason to fear
discipline/punishment.
The passage in 1 John 4:18 above can also be applied to the love among
people. If I love someone, my expectations of and the way I treat them should
not instil fear in them. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states: "Love bears up under
anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every
person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures
everything [without weakening] (Amplified Bible).
Our love for others should cover their trespasses toward us. We should
not judge or accuse them. We should rather pray for them that God will help
them see their error and then help them to change. At the same time, one can pray
that God will do the same for you. One can discuss issues lovingly.
We should make a point to believe the best of them and reject critical
thoughts about them entering our minds.
We should hope the best for them because God can change anybody. We
should also be careful what we say. Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in
the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it
[for death or life]". Gossiping about people and cursing them by saying
critical things about them comes easily, doesn't it? Let's rather replace our tendency
to judge with love and give the Lord the mandate to help them through
loving them, instead of giving Satan the mandate to destroy them through
cursing them with our criticism and gossip.
It's not easy to live with something you believe is wrong, but you
should always realise you don't know all the facts. Rather, play it safe by
letting love help you endure what irritates you until the Lord comes through
for you.
(To be continued)
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