The Greatest Fear

A friend of mine tonight was talking about a speaker, who she heard at her church recently, say that to know someone's greatest fear and to love them for it is a great gift of encouragement. She was talking in reference to a marriage and understanding and loving your spouse, but for me, it spoke volumes of wisdom. What if we knew everyone's greatest fear and then aimed to love them in that area?

What a challenge it would be to live each day more intentionally for Christ by loving others in the areas of their greatest fears! We would mirror Christ all the more, for He did this very thing as He walked the earth. The fears of dying and death, of permanent illness, of hopelessness, of burdens too heavy to bear, of uncertainty, of failure, of loss, of unworthiness--you name it, the fears were there--surrounded and sought the Savior of the world.

Repetition is a technique often used to get a point across. Parents use it, teachers use it, kids use it, and even God Himself uses it. Repeatedly (at least 85 times) God said in His Word, "Do not fear" or "Do not be afraid." Go ahead, search those exact phrases in biblegateway.com. (I used the NIV translation.) The more I think about it, the more I realize how fear can either drive us away from God or drive us right to Him. Those who had great fears (as mentioned above) sought Jesus' healing, love, and salvation. The dead rose, the lame walked, the hopeless hoped, the burdens lifted, the uncertain became certain, the failures turned in to successes, the loss found, the unworthy made worthy. Therefore, do not be afraid. Do not fear. The Lord Jesus Christ has restored us through His great love and has conquered all fears so that we may be free.

Consequently, I must do my part in response. I must live more intentionally for Him by loving those who live in fear or who are hindered by great fears. I don't mean just love them, but love them in those areas so that they may be strengthened by God's love and be assured of His freeing gift of grace.

1 John 4:17-19

"This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us."