NO FEAR

Love is not our only emotional need, but it interfaces with all our other needs. We also need to feel secure, to have a healthy sense of self-worth, and to feel that our lives are significant. When two people choose to love each other, they also meet these needs. For example, if I know that my wife loves me, I feel secure in her presence.

The apostle John, who is known as “the disciple Jesus loved,” writes a lot about love in his letters to believers. He wrote, “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18, nkjv, nkjv). In our relationship with God, this means that when we know the Lord loves us and has saved us, we are no longer afraid of judgment. In a sense, we can face anything. Genuine love in a human relationship has some of the same effects. Why should I be afraid if I am loved?

If I feel loved by my wife, then I also feel good about myself. After all, if she loves me, I must be worth loving. Ultimately, it is discovering that God loves me that gives me my greatest sense of worth. But my wife is an agent of God’s love.

If my spouse loves me, I’m also more likely to feel that my life has significance. We want our lives to count for something; we want to make a difference in the world. When we give love to and receive love from our spouse, we are making a difference. We are enriching his or her life. This is what God called us to do—express his love in the world. Why not start at home?

Father, I want to make a difference—and I know I can start at home by loving my spouse. May my love be so strong and genuine that it changes the way he or she feels about life. May I always understand that my true worth comes because of your love.