What Are You Fighting?

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

It is almost impossible to follow a God of love and be afraid at the same time. See, love is who God is. It is in his very nature to love his children whom he has made. Yet at the same time we see there is something else at work here. Some have entered in with a spirit of fear. Well, it’s not exactly a spirit. More like a strong feeling or emotion if you look at it hard enough. Regardless, something has happened to make this person afraid. What you might wonder could have done it. There are a lot of things that can happen to separate a person from God. Such is not the natural state of a man. But it is rather one of the fallen or sinful, separated from him and alone.

We love him, because he first loved us.

See, the love of God is very much like a parent-child relationship. God loved us. So he showed his love through Jesus Christ his son as the embodiment of this love. John 3:16 tells how God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son Jesus to die on the cross. A little something had happened then, known as sin. Whatever man had done and continued to do, it caused an issue. The relationship was not the same anymore, for man no longer loved God. It is sad that what should have been so often is not. Yet God knows, he cares, and above all understands.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Here at long last we finally see what has happened between man and God. God loves us, sure. But at the same time, actions have consequences and all that is holy and just does too. God will not let you treat his children any which way and get by with it. Man fell apart from God, separated and alone. Then in the silence, disorder came along with all the bad things that followed. Man here was caught up in hating his brother and lying about it. It was a shame too, because the text says man had his brother with him all along. Think of it a bit like this. If I say I love you and do not show you, that is silly. For it is not love at all. Then again if I say I love you and seek to destroy you, that is also nonsense.

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

The presence of God changes people. When you love him and he loves you, you will show all around his love. The light of his presence will guide you. The Father himself will empower you. For there is neither darkness in him nor shadow of turning. That should be a real comfort to you who are afraid. So then, you will not only talk of him but also walk like him. My, you look just like your daddy, don’t you. When your Father which is in Heaven loves people, dear child of his, then you will too. It’s not even a command as it is a mere statement of truth. You love God, then love his people also. See, God won’t allow it to remain disorder much longer in his house.