Friday Reading: 1 John 4:18-21
Key Verse: 1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Devotion:
I love the way that love is describe here – that love should not have fear or harbour fear because love should cover all and include all. But this love that is described here is more than just the love that we should have for each other or for those special people in our lives; the love that is described here is the love that God has shown to us and the love that He wants us to know! Not just know about, but actually know in our hearts!
Does this mean that we must all go out there and strive to find that special person so that we can spend the rest of our lives with them? Well, no, not really. Yes we will find great comfort in love. Yes we will find great companionship in love. Yes we will find great joy and peace in love. But unless we hold fast to that love that Christ has shown us first, then we should not have room for any other love in our lives. It should only be once we do know that love from Christ and for Christ that we should even think about taking that love and sharing it with another person.
Christ is the one who is going to give you a heart that will have room to love Him as well as to love that special person in your life. Christ is the one that we need to focus on in our lives so that we can get that love from Him and for Him too. Once we know that love then we will be able to decipher the love that we have for others. When we think about that special person in our lives we should never harbour doubts or fear that what we do should interfere with our love for each other. As long as we strive to do what is right in God’s eyes then everything else will fall into place. If anything does not fit into that pattern, then are we simply fooling ourselves rather than exercising our love?
Our love for Christ needs to be strong and sincere. If we do not truly love God then we will find all manner of things that feel wrong in our relationship with Him. But if our love for Him is anything like His love for us we will grow in that love daily!
Points to Ponder:
Do you know love?
Do you know God’s perfect love for you?
