Perfect Love

In the last post I wrote about guilt and how it’s a very bad driver to have in the front seat of your life. In this one I want to touch briefly on fear. I think fear is possibly even more common of a driver than guilt, as there are so many things to be fearful of.


With the start of this year I have been considering some new ventures, and I have to say that I have been hit with many fears. Fears of making the wrong decision. Fears of not making a decision at all (procrastination being my usual reaction to facing major choices). And mostly the fear of time.

This year I will turn 30 and passing that milestone has prompted me to re-examine a lot of things in an effort to see if I’m happy with where my life is at right now. I’m happy to say that I’ve come to the decision that I can be content with and even proud of most of what I’ve done this far. But coming to that conclusion has not been without a few sleepless nights where I worried about the time that’s passing by.

A verse I memorized early in childhood comes to mind whenever I think about fears. 1John 4:18 tells us, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Even though I’ve heard this many times it’s always been a bit of a conundrum for me. When I think about the antidote to fear I’m far more likely to come up with choices such as bravery, hope, faith, and trust, rather than love. But I think the answer to this puzzle is found in the words “perfect love”.

When we think of love the first example that usually comes to mind is the love between a man and woman. This is one of the least perfect examples of love. There are countless imperfections to be found in each relationship. A closer one would probably be the love of a parent for their child, but still as a human relation this is filled with imperfections. In fact, I believe it would be impossible to find an example of “perfect love” in a world filled with human imperfection.

Therefore to find the true meaning of “perfect love” we have to look beyond human limitations. Earlier in the same chapter we are told, “God is love,” 1John 4:8. So to find the perfection in love we have to look to the only thing which is perfect – God and His love for us.

As I think about the fact that God loves me, that He made me, that He has a plan for my life and even promises to bring good out of every situation including the ones that I get myself into that are outside of His will, all the fears dissipate, and I can find the peace in His perfect love for me that casts out all fear.