Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Perfect Love Drives out Fear  

Bible Reading:  1 John 4 : 11-21 

Key Verse :  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. ( I John 4 :18 (New Living Translation) 

DEVOTION

Firstly let us focus for moment on the Apostle John , who has was not only the author of Gospel of John , Book of Revelations but also the Pastor Letters of 1 John , 2 John and 3 John. Apostle John is considered the disciple that Jesus loved and there is plenty of mention of love through all Apostle John’s writings. Apostle John was during the final years of life banished to the island of Patmos where would live a life of exile. 
We read further in today’s reading from 1 John 4 , where the chapter focuses on rejecting and guarding against false teacher and continuing  to live in God’s love for us.  The verses we focus today are from 1 John 4 : 11-21 . As we dwell on verse 10 , we read nothing sinful or evil can exist in God’s presence , as God cannot overlook or excuse sin as though sin never existed. God certainly unconditionally loves us  but God’s love for us does not make God morally lax. Now here is truth that we have learned since our days in Sunday School and VBS, God love is so overwhelming that if we trust in Christ , we will not have to bear the penalty of our sins and we will be acquitted because of God’s atoning sacrifice and that is good news each of us carry with us today.  Jesus is the fullest expression of God in the human form , and as we love one another , God reveals Himself to us and God ‘s love is made complete in all of us. We see ourselves transformed by God’s love and power of the in dwelling Spirit of God that even strangers and people who have hurt us and despise us , will become lovable to us and that is God working in our lives through the extraordinary power of the Spirt of the Living God in us. 
I have chosen verse 18 as the key verse today and that is because if we are afraid of God’s judgement and how we will be judged, we can remind of ourselves of God’s Love . We can be guaranteed of God’s Love and in turn  resolve our fears and concerns  by focusing on God’s immeasurable love for us . This should prompt us  to love others as well . God’s Love will calm our fears and gives us the confidence to firstly love God and then those around us as well.  We take this one step forward in verses 20-21 where if we say we love God then that love has to manifest to those around us , our family members , our friends, our neighbors and our community of believers around us. We cannot truly love God while neglecting those that God created in God’s great image.  Mother Teresa the saintly nun who ran the sisters of charity ministry in Kolkata always said that she loved the poor and needy because she sees Christ love exemplified and manifested as Mother Teresa cared for the downtrodden , poor and the needy in the streets of Kolkata. 

   PRAYER

Almighty and Gracious Lord , as we review verse 18 , let fear be driven away from us as we love others as Christ first loved us , may this,  be the answer to living the righteous life for God this Lent Season 

Thought for the day

“ We have been created for greater things, to love and be loved “ Adapted from Mother Teresa ‘s  book Where there is Love , there is God. 

Abraham Kurien, Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Houston, Texas

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