To Love or to Fear

Fear is a powerful motivator. To be honest it is probably the biggest motivator in our lives. We don’t want to get in trouble, we don’t want to let someone down, we don’t want to get fired. When we are faced with confrontation, there are three options that people we find ourselves using. Fight, Flight, or Freeze. All these methods are based on our core instinct to “survive”. We can stand our ground, and defend our territory. We ran away from issues that threaten us, physically or emotionally. Sometimes we don’t know what to do, and we freeze.

I want to offer up one more option to this paradigm. Love.

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. 1 John 4:18

Love is a powerful force, it is greater than fear. If we can harness Love, we can look at our mistakes and learn from them. We are not afraid of relationships because we can find forgiveness. We can feel accepted in our weakness, and realize that doing our best is “good” enough. We live our lives, not in fear of hitting land mines, but we can live our lives in knowing God can work through any situation. The Bible tells us that Love covers a multitude of errors, and because of that we can live our lives the best we can. Love does not make life “easy”, but it helps us live with confidence that God understand us, and always loves us.

There is a need for Christians to reflect on our lives. We can always do better, and we can always be growing. Growing also means failing, but we can be secure in Love, knowing that we are never forsaken. God never leaves us in despair, and has a plan for all of us to grow in the Love of His nature. Fear is not something we can avoid it is all around us, but if Love is in our hearts, we can be free of its control. Having peace and confidence is a condition that God wants all of us to attain. Let’s pursue the destiny God has for us, believing every step of the way, God is Love.

Connected to the Vine

-Pastor Danny