Perfecting the Love of God
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.
The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
Perfect love – you may wonder if there is such a thing. Is it even possible? It’s even more difficult to comprehend if you’ve been subject to conditional acceptance, abuse, or abandonment from those who claimed to “love” you. Whether it was the failure of a parent, spouse, or friend, we’re left with a feeling that perfect love is just an ideal that no one can truly experience. We may even try as hard as we can to love God perfectly yet find it beyond our ability. There was a time when Peter thought he loved Jesus perfectly, so much, in fact, he would lay down his life for Jesus. We know how that ended. He denied even knowing Jesus three times before the evening was up.
When someone tells you that you just need to love God more, they are missing the point. The truth is, we just need to experience how perfectly God loves us! God loves us perfectly because He is love! In verse 16 of this same chapter, John writes, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” Then, in verse 19 (NKJV), he says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” Perfect love always begins with God. He took the initiative to come to us first in our relationship with Him. He found us when we were lost and broken. In Romans 5:8 (TEV), the Bible tells us, “God has shown us how much He loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!” He didn’t wait until we deserved it or loved Him to die for us. That’s perfect love! He loved us just the way we were but loved us too much to leave us in our sinful condition.
When we experience His perfect love, God desires to then perfect His love in us. The word perfect in this passage carries the idea of completeness and maturity. We are to grow in God’s love. We do that in response to His love for us.
John offers two great evidences that God’s love is being perfected in us. The first is confidence. A Christ follower does not have to fear the past, present, or future. We never have to fear God’s judgment because Jesus settled that on the cross when He died for our sins. Should that fear creep into our hearts, we simply need to remember God’s perfect love for us. His love will quiet our fears and give us confidence. Look at the verse again, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Another evidence that God’s love is being perfected in us is found in verse 17, where John writes, “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” When God’s love is perfected in us, we love like Jesus!
As you pray today, make the positive confession of your faith in God’s perfect love for you! Thank Him that His death on the cross settled your sin problem once and for all! He took our punishment and desires now to perfect His love in us for Him and others.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.