Have you ever been warned not to get between a mother bear and her cub? Have you heard about amazing acts of bravery or strength involving a mother rescuing her child? Whether it is a mother bear instinctively fighting off a lion or a parent running into a burning building, these actions seem to disregard the danger of the moment eclipsed by love. These apparently courageous acts cut me to the heart because they expose my own lack of love. We all have fears but we all don’t love like a mother might her children or like Jesus His Bride. Probably my biggest problem in life, is my lack of love.
Despite being loved by Jesus and despite the Holy Spirit giving me a new heart and despite the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead indwelling me, my love is often pathetic. If I loved my neighbour would I be reluctant to share the gospel with him? If I loved God, would I disobey him over and over starting with the greatest commandment? When have I ever loved the Lord God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength and my neighbour as myself? … I never have yet, but just imaging if I did or what heaven will be like when we do.
These last few years could be characterized by a spirit of fear much of it conditioned and stoked by Satan’s lies, but on the other hand much is of our own doing because we lacked the love that casts out fear.
Dr. Lloyd Jones explains:
“Our fears are due to our failure to stir up, a failure to think, a failure to take ourselves in hand. You find yourself looking to the future and then you begin to imagine things and you say: “I wonder what is going to happen?” And then your imagination runs away with you. You are gripped by the thing; you do not stop to remind yourself, and speak to yourself. As the Apostle puts it, we have to remind ourselves of certain things… The big thing Paul is saying to Timothy is, “Timothy, you seem to be thinking about yourself and your life and all you have to do as if you are an ordinary person. But Timothy, you are not an ordinary person. You are a Christian; you have the Spirit of God within you.”
Let us remind ourselves who we are and the power of Christ’s love within us to overcome the legitimate and illegitimate fears of life.
