Last night, I shared with some folks during prayer time about our need to be secure in the love of God. This cannot be something that we simply assume or hope that we have, but we must know without a shadow of doubt that God has manifested His love toward us through the sending of His Son. The reason for this is quite simple: Perfect Love Drives Out Fear!!!
Most of us have seen fear in action. It produces what is commonly known as "flight or fight." The best video I have ever seen on this happened a couple of years ago when a young man decided to dress up as a scarecrow sitting on the porch while kids came to trick or treat at the house. He thought it would be a lot of fun to scare anyone who came onto the porch. This worked well with most of them and it accomplished exactly what he hoped - they ran for their lives. However, one young man came upon the porch and when the scarecrow tried to scare him, he punched him right in the face. Why? Fear. It causes us to do crazy things.
Look into your relationships. If there is any fear present then you will see people hold back, shut down, pull themselves away, or there will always be a fight. This is true in children, parents, friends, etc. Fear is not conducive to strong relationships. It will actually work against them. It eats away at any confidence, trust, or security. That's why when someone lies in a relationship or breaks trust it takes a long time to work through the issues. Fear is a powerful weapon for the enemy.
I want you to take that same mentality and apply it to your relationship with God. When you know you are loved (as Brennan Manning says) for who you are and not for who you are supposed to be, it will create incredible security. You will be free to be yourself. There's no need for masks, hypocrisy, or a cleaning up to make an appearance. You don't have to wring your hands wondering if God is going to have a bad day or be in a bad mood. You will stop living your life as though you could do anything to make yourself more lovable. I mean...really? God loved humanity at its worst. The Bible declares that even while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. It doesn't get much worse than that. Jesus took the pain, endured the agony, and was nailed to a Cross while saying "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they do." That doesn't sound like anyone who has love issues.
However, we often do have love issues. We struggle to understand unconditional love. We struggle to see the good in ourselves and them project our image of ourselves on God and we think that He sees us in exactly the same way. My friends, if I could give you some encouragement today: STOP IT!!! The love that God has for us should drive out any and all fear. The problem is not with His love. The problem is with our lack of perfection in it.
We have to see ourselves as loved. We have to interact with God on the basis of His love and not our performance. We must be absolutely convinced of His love. When we are, then we can begin to live in an open relationship with Him. Then we will be free to love others with the same type of love that He has lavishly poured out on us. When people are perfected in the love of God it will create a new found freedom for life and relationships that we never thought possible. No longer will we cower in the shadow of an unloving father. No longer will we be driven by the pain of lost love, broken promises, and shattered dreams. We will enjoy being loved and we will gladly give love to those around us. Not only that, but we will learn how to love God completely as well.
People who live in fear only give a part of themselves. If we view God outside of the fact that He is unconditional love we will do the same. God wants all of you. Jesus came to make that relationship possible. See yourself as loved by your Heavenly Father. Anytime a question comes up about it, just take it to Him. Allow Him to perfect you in His love because there is nothing quite as glorious as a child who knows they are secure in the love of their parents. Enjoy the journey!!!
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