The following is excerpted from LDS Daily. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
The verses on the power of God’s love found in 1 John 4 have always been a source of hope and inspiration for me.
In a world that often encourages us to be guarded and hard, the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us a different perspective—one that invites us to be gentle and genuine. Here are just a few of my favorite verses.
Beloved, let us one another: for is of God; and every one that loveth is , and knoweth God. – 1 John 4:7
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he us, and his Son to be the for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. – 1 John 4:10-11
There is no in ; but perfect casteth out fear: because fear hath . He that feareth is not made perfect in love. – 1 John 4:18
However, as I’ve sought to better understand charity and prayed “with all the energy of the heart, that ye may be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48), I’ve still struggled to embrace the perfect love these scriptures talk about. I’ve had fear and torment.
This has especially manifested itself in how I interact with others. I have anxiety about if people really care for me, if I’m offering too much of myself or too little, if I am a burden, or how to be appropriately vulnerable with the people I love most.
It’s made me wonder what pieces are missing in my understanding about what “perfect love” is and how it can cast out fear. Here are a few thoughts as we dive deeper into these verses.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
