My dear friends, 1 John 4:18 tells us: "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." Now, there is not one person who is entirely without fear in some respect. We all have fears, some more rational than others, like the natural fear of one's eventual demise. As a Christian, it is very easy to have this scrupulous mindset of believing that if one has any sort of fear that one is entirely without the love of God in one's life. Well, I think that is a very harsh assessment. When John tells us that there is no fear in love, I don't think he means to say that a person who has fears is entirely without love. I am privileged to know of such persons who have undergone their own personal battles all surrounding their many fears, but who are perhaps the most loving and good-natured people I have ever known. Such persons have a great capacity for love and to love, but are afraid of themselves and afraid of life in general. Though it is necessary for every human person's well-being to embrace all the good that life has to offer, there are indeed many fearful people and circumstances that one can encounter during the course of one's life, such as natural disasters, illnesses, economic collapses, and death. One may fear that one will not reach one's potential or find true happiness in this life. Well, unfortunately, a fear such as that may in fact come true, but one must not despair, for God did not promise that one would have true happiness in this life, but that the true happiness lies in the life to come.
We all want happiness and love to some extent, and this is a holy and natural desire that we all have, for we are all called to an eternal union of love and happiness in God. However, because of our fallen nature, we are bombarded by many demons that threaten our chances for achieving eternal union with God, who is the source of all life, all happiness, all peace, and all love. Not only is fear the absence of perfect love, but fear is rooted in sin, and it is sin that causes the chord of communion between us and God to snap. What makes fear the absence of love is that it negates the very essence of love, which involves a mutual giving and receiving of the entirety of one's personhood. When we fear, we are withholding ourselves from God and His mercy, not trusting that He will see us through every trial we will have to face in our lives. We are not allowing Him to enter into us and breathe into us a spirit of courage to persevere and to find joy even in the hardest of times. Thus, when we are living in fear, we are not being true to ourselves and who we are called to be. We become less of ourselves, turning too inward and becoming isolated unto oneself, which leaves all the more ammunition for the devil to work his dark magic on us. In fear, there is a perceived threat to harmony in our lives, and with that threat in place, the devil casts us under his spell, convincing us that the worst will always come true and that there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no one to turn to. But God is our friend, lifelong companion, and consolation. It is He who provides us with the ammunition to suppress these dark fears. All we must do is trust in Him, for He is our safeguard who never abandons His children, especially during their darkest hours. Even Christ Himself was plagued with fear in the Garden of gethsemane, but because He had hope and knew that the final outcome would be victorious, He persevered in the fears that were plaguing Him and won the final battle over Satan. And so, we must take Christ as our example and as our guide towards achieving final union in love, a love that is perfect and without fear.
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