Know & Rely on God's Love

What does it means to know God's love?

What does it look like to rely on God's love?

What is perfect love?

How does it drive out fear?

1 John 4:16-18 says:

"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. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. 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."

John writes a lot about God's love and how our love for others is a sign we're in Christ in 1 John. But, I think these verses are the culmination of all he is saying. Here, John writes about God's love for us in a way that emphasizes how great it is, and also shows us that love changes how we live.

We can know and rely on God's love. While we may never fully grasp the magnitude of God's love for us, we can at least begin to know it. Scripture is pretty clear in how it shows us God's love. As we seek to know it more, we will continue to grow in our understanding of it.

As we get to know God's love, we can also come to rely on it. God's love for us will always be there. We can count on it. It doesn't change or disappear. We can build our lives on the knowledge that God's love will always be there.

This knowledge and reliance changes how we live in the world. Because we're no longer caught up in a desperate search for love, we're actually able to live the world and the people in it like Jesus does. John calls it being like Jesus in the world.

If we look at the gospels to see what Jesus was like in the world, we see a great example of love. When we get to know and rely on God's love for us, we then able to love people like Jesus did - unconditionally, looking out for their best, and seeking nothing in return.

Verse 18 has always intrigued me, especially the first part where John says that fear and love cannot coexist. When I take the time to think about it, I realize it's very much true. When we come to the point of knowing and relying on God's love for us, fear vanishes from our lives. We've become secure in our position as God's children. We know our identity and we're living from that place. That leaves no room for us to live in fear.

John also connects fear with punishment here. When we're living in fear, we're living feeling like we're waiting for punishment for what we've done. We're wondering when we're going to cross the line and bring punishment on ourselves.

This fear of punishment is different than the discipline that comes from real love. Discipline is about getting us back on track and is always done out of real love. Punishment is about being made to pay a price for your ways. It doesn't come from a place of love that is like God's love.

God's perfect love for us removes our desperation is our search for love. As we come to know and learn to rely on it, it changes everything about how we live in and love the world around us. It enables us to be like Jesus in the world.