Pastor Kyle's Weekly Devotion
“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.”
Have you ever heard that if a snapping turtle bites you it will not let go until it thunders? Someone shared this little bit of insight with me when I was a child. There’s one problem, it’s actually a myth. But, imagine being a young boy and hearing this information after looking at the snarling mouth of a snapping turtle. It doesn’t take much to put both of these facts together and determine that you do not want to mess with a snapping turtle. There are a number things that can take hold of us and even some things may be desirable, but a snapping turtle is not one of them. You might desire to get in shape and start eating healthier. You might desire to read your Bible more and the desire simply takes hold of you. This kind of desire would be good. However, there are things that can take hold of us that are very much dreaded. For example, it is never good when fear takes hold of our lives. There is a possibility that fear can consume our lives. We begin to dwell on something that is scary and cannot let it go. We become afraid of what might happen to our health when we get older or what is going to happen to my children when they grow up. One of the things that we can become afraid of is the fear of God’s judgement when we die. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” This is a sobering reality that should give us pause. The experience of living with this kind of fear would be horrible. However, 1 John 4:18 provides a solution for this kind of fear. The verse says, “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.” When we come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives we experience His perfect love which casts out our fear. At that moment we can live with peace. We can embrace what Jude says in Jude 24, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” Jude’s reference is to Jesus. He alone is able to cause us to stand without blame before God one day. His perfect love does indeed cast out the most dread fear of all, the fear of standing before God at judgement. May God give you great peace through Jesus Christ.