On The Other Side Of Fear

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:18  


I listened with interest to a brother in Christ share how everything (we want in life) is on the other side of fear and for the most part he was right. His conclusion on how to get there differs from mine in that what he believed on the other side of fear for the most part is success. His approach was that of a salesmen (and he is a good one at that) having to get a lot of ‘No’ responses to sales pitches before having someone say, ‘Yes’. He never used the word but what he was saying is that what most people fear when it comes to making a sales pitch for just about anything in life is the fear of rejection. If a sales person gets over the fear of being rejected that sales person stands to sell a lot of products and in turn make a lot of money. Just like a professional baseball player can strike out seven out of every ten at bats and still be considered a good baseball player, a person who can overcome their fear of striking out in life will become successful in pretty much anything they set their heart and mind to do.

If you ask most people though what the opposite of fear is to them they will say things like, courage, faith or belief. Did you know the Bible says the opposite of fear is love? That’s right, love. On the other side of fear in God’s eyes is love as love conquers all. Love is the greatest of God’s gifts and is the most powerful force in the universe for the simple fact that God is love. Love is the very nature of God and everything He does He does in love. That’s why love fulfills the law of God and empowers us to live the life God has always wanted us to live. Love makes the impossible possible. And it’s not that we somehow conjure up love within us by trying harder or doing more. Love is something that happens to us when we encounter God in our lives. Gods love is a gift to us that fills and overflows our lives as we encounter Him on a day to day basis. The Bible says it’s not that we love God but that God first loved us. Love for the Christian is a by-product of a relationship not a religion, a response to our being loved. We don’t have to work for it nor do we need to work it up in our lives. We just need to open our hearts to it and receive it and believe it.  

If you want to conquer the fears in your life grow in the knowledge of God in Christ and how much you are loved by Him. God’s love is the most secure thing in this world and is not subject to change without notice. God has loved us with an everlasting love. When a person is secure in love they are capable of doing amazing things. Love doesn’t eliminate the ‘No’ responses people give, love motivates us to show them more love. Romans 2:4 reminds us that it is the kindness (love) of God that draws people to repentance. Loving people in Jesus name is so freeing to the believer as somehow getting a person to say ‘Yes’ to God as the result of a spiritual sales pitch has never been the goal. Our goal has always been is to love in Jesus name, in Jesus power, period.

Remember loved one, on the other side of fear in each of our lives is love. As we conquer the fears we face in the strength that God provides, the more love becomes available to us, to enjoy ourselves and to share with others just as the disciple who Jesus loved stated,


“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

1 John 4:7-11

I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

Recent

Archive

Categories

no categories

Tags

no tags