How Love Defeats Fear
Love comes first. Love initiated everything. Before we could fear, doubt, sin, or believe—God loved. The resurrection is not just a victory over death but as the ultimate act of love stepping into the tomb to call us by name. This is a love that chooses, acts, and sacrifices. God’s love precedes our response (v.19).
But that kind of love doesn’t come without resistance…
Fear closes us off. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear..." (v.18)
Fear is something we use as a survival instinct, but it becomes a prison when applied to relationships, espcially our relationship with God. Fear keeps us from fully accepting the Love of God. Our fears of being exposed, our fear of rejection if we show our real selves. our fear of judgment, especially if we’ve been taught God is primarily a judge and even the fear of change—because love changes us.
So what breaks the cycle of fear? Not more fear. Not shame. Only love…
Love makes us Bold. "We love because he first loved us." (v.19)
God’s love gives us the courage to be seen, to risk, and to love in return. Jesus pursues us, he walks through locked doors, not to rebuke but to breathe peace. Even in fear, Jesus loves, and sets that bar for what authentic love is meant to look like.
And when we live in that kind of love, something deep happens…
Love abides. “God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." (v.12, 16–17)
This is not a one-time emotional experience. This is abiding, dwelling, living in the atmosphere of love. God is not visiting them with occasionally—He wants to make a home. And when God lives in us, fear cannot.
Love has already won. Not just over death in the abstract—but over the fear that keeps us from living. This Easter, let us not just to celebrate resurrection, but to abide in it. Let’s allow thec love of God defeat the fear inside us, and to become people who reflect that love to a world still afraid.
Reflection Questions
Where in your life are you still living from a place of fear instead of love?
How has fear affected your ability to receive love and to give it?
What would it look like for you to truly abide in God’s love for the rest of this week?
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