No Fear in Love.
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades’” (Revelation 1:17-18).
What’s it like to see a friend after a long absence? You may give them a high five or a hug. You may catch up on lost time by staying up late with them and sharing your insights from the last few years.
What if your best friend was Jesus? And you were the apostle John? How about falling at their feet as if you were dead? Would you react like this? John is one of Jesus’ best friends, and yet when John sees him, this new vision of Jesus [in Revelation 1] is so overwhelming that he falls down as though he were dead.
What does this tell us about our connection to Jesus and what it will be like for us when we do see Him face to face? It tells us that there could be a similar reaction on our part. But it also tells us that Jesus will encourage us to “fear not.” There is a lot to learn from these two verses. The brilliant part of the gospel message is that we have become friends with God on account of Jesus’ perfect actions which were done for our benefit. Jesus created that perfect record that we could not coerce or produce. Jesus accomplished our status with the Heavenly Father and we are set.
But there is the “fall down as though dead” part of meeting Jesus. What’s with that? Simply put, our sinful human self does not do well in the presence of the perfect, living and powerful God of all Creation: Jesus. Our sinful nature is repulsed by such perfection and wise power. We live in terror of the Holy God because we are responsible to Him for all our actions. (BTW - this is one of the reasons that the world around us does not come running to the church; we represent that living, holy God and there is an element of fear.) Yet Jesus counsels John to “fear not.” How does this all fit?
To further explain, I’m going to share 1 John 4:18 with you: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). When it says, “perfect love,” the word “perfect” is a word that points to reaching a particular ending point of aim. The ending point that is referred to in 1 John 4:18 is that fear will eventually, gradually, with careful focus on God’s love for us, . . . fear will dissipate. The end goal of applying God’s perfect love to our person, to our lives, is the eradication of any and every form of fear. We will stop being afraid of God’s holy, powerful presence.
That end goal will happen when we reach heaven and our eternal existence with Jesus. But until then, we are in constant need of focusing on the love, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, and self-lessness of God toward us. God is committed to us; He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). The more our heart and soul grasps this very weighty and blessed truth, the more we will live without fear. The application of God’s undeserved love, as it impacts and affects our hearts, will produce a humble and confident trust in God’s eminent, good and holy character. Fear will flee.
With that perfect confidence in our powerful, holy and loving Lord Jesus, we can take stock in the truth that all of history (especially our current history) is completely held and molded by His perfect plans for His Church - for all believers. This means that there is no place for fear. Little by little the Gospel creates in us, worship (bowing down) without fear!
And that friend is the One who is, who was and who is to come, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End; to Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen!