I wonder if you have ever wondered, as I have, why Jesus said that perfect love casts out fear and not perfect faith casts out fear? But if you think about it for a moment the psychology of this makes sense. How? Well, if John had said: "Perfect faith casts out fear," that would have thrown the spotlight on the person who is trusting. We would be able to say: "I have faith, therefore I have no fear." But in love I am not the centre of attention because the very nature of love is to make someone outside of oneself the centre of attention. Fear is cast out by "the expulsive power of new affection." Therefore love, not faith, is the primary remedy for fear. Yet we must never forget that that faith is important, because it is a byproduct of love.

You are not afraid of people you love;
you are afraid of people you don't love.
A newly converted Christian once said: "I opened my heart to the love of God and He gave me such a blessing I never dreamed a man could have this side of heaven. O, how I loved! In that hour I knew Jesus and I loved till it seemed my heart would break with love. I loved the sparrows. I loved the dogs. I loved the horses. I loved little urchins on the street. I loved the world." Strengthened and empowered by such love there is no fear of anybody, anything, or any situation. You are not afraid to walk up to whatever you know God wants you to walk up to.
Now, truthfully, isn't this the kind of love that this people need? Isn't this the cement and mortar of Zion? The secret of true discipleship is found in the words: "I opened my heart to the love of God..." God's love cannot come in unless we let it in. If only we would open our hearts more to the Lord and His love we would see amazing effects.
Have you ever seen the Niagara Falls? It's one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The amount of water that cascades over in just one minute is incomprehensible and in volume is probably greater than all the baths the human race has ever taken...and more!
Well, God's love is like the Niagara Falls. Ours, if we can really say we possess any of our own, is by comparison like the trickling of a tap. We -- you and I -- are not the spring of love. We are merely channels. God is willing to give you love as great as the Niagara Falls so long as you let it flow out to others. He won't give you something that you try to keep for yourself because you'll just drown in it. It's a strange thought, isn't it, that we can be killed by love, but it's true. God gives us love in proportion to what we are willing to share out with others and no more, not because He is mean but because He knows the surplus we try to keep will kill us. Let us, therefore, open ourselves more fully so that the love in us flows freely out, having faith that God will replenish our reservoir of love in proportion to what we are willing to give.

This page was created on 16 May 1998 Updated on 16 May 1998

Copyright © 1998-2007 NCCG - All Rights Reserved