People who are prone to fear will not only find it in the shadows; they will find it in full light. Fear is a terrible way to live our lives. We can draw up long lists of people whom we should fear. The Holy Scriptures always direct us away from fear. It is said that there are 365 “Do-not-fears” in the Bible, one for every day of the year. God’s love for us generates in us a love for God where fear of God is taken away. Abba loves all people, even the ones we think we should fear. His kind of love in us causes us to move toward all people and all people groups instead of running away in fear. We need this God’s-kind-of-love to transform us and them. With it we can live with our neighbors without fear.
“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” 1 John 4:18-19 (NLT)
