LOVE vs. Fear

Lately I have found myself wrestling with fear.  Fear for my daughter most often.  The world is big and it can be brutal, uncaring and harsh.  Her innocence is so unbelievably precious to me and simply every bad thing that can happen to her wants to consume my thoughts lately.  Now, I understand that hormones probably have a lot to do with this overwhelming awareness, but I have found myself constantly having to fight to stay out of the trap of fear.

Unfortunately, fear is a common thread in our society right now.  I think of all of the gun violence lately and how this has forever impacted every single person whether a victim or not.  I think of the gun battle that we have amongst the people of this nation and how, in an effort to subdue our fear, more and more of us have gone out to purchase guns.  While I am ultimately not opposed to gun ownership, I am opposed to gun ownership out of fear.  There is no amount of gun ownership in the world that will assuage the fear.  Human power over fear is an illusion and cannot be purchased or concealed.

Fear consumes us, makes us desperate, makes us think and act in irrational ways and ultimately binds us in a prison.  It hangs over us like a cloud and makes us look at the world around us as though it could consume us.  We see the negative before the positive, we take a kind gesture as an act of aggression, we see a stranger and think the worst, we pass by someone in need not wanting to get involved for fear of the what ifs.  Fear is a noose that slowly tightens around our lives until we want nothing more than to burrow into the ground with those we love most, seclude ourselves from everything fearful and gird ourselves with whatever weapons we believe give us the most sense of power.   Its happening all around us right now, and here is something eye opening to think about......... we are only perpetuating our fear.  There is no amount of self defense, gun ownership, or seclusion that will quell the fear. Simply put, fear is human, to not fear takes Divine power.

So what casts out fear?  What binds up fear and sends it packing? LOVE, God's love, His perfect unending love.

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. ~ I John 4:18

In Christ there is no fear.  It's NON EXISTENT! His death broke that burden and there is simply nothing that fear can do to us that Christ's love has not conquered. Therefore fear is not of God.  If we have been made perfect in love through Christ, what have we to fear?  Nothing.

Now here is a tough question, if fear is a prison that Christ set us free from, why then do we seek to be rebound into slavery?  Fear has no place in our lives,  I say again, NO PLACE.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ~ Galatians 5:1

I challenge you as I challenge myself to examine your life.  Are we making decisions in our lives based out of fear?  Are we dwelling on what terrifies us about this world instead of dwelling on things that are pure, lovely and righteous? Have we chosen a life of slavery, or are we going to choose a life of freedom?

Freedom is Christ, Christ is LOVE, and in LOVE there can be no fear.