I John 4( AMP) 10 In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another.
12 No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!
13 By this we come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us: because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit.
14 And [besides] we ourselves have seen (have deliberately and steadfastly contemplated) and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son [as the] Savior of the world.
15 Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God.
16 And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.
17 In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love [g]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear [h]brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].
19 We love Him, because He first loved us.
God’s love toward us has been and is extended to us even when we are in our most unlovable state. He has not waited for us to make the first step or to clean up our act in order that we might become lovable first. Instead, He draws us in and that love He demonstrated is such as it begins to change and transform us into a person who can love even those whom we feel have wronged us or extends that love to those whom we would never be able to love were it not for our knowledge of God. The more we learn of God, the more we are enlightened to the depth of His love toward us, and the more our hearts are transformed into both a Spirit that portrays Him in the world and a person who displays love, joy, and peace. Our former fears (which stand in the way of our proclaiming His name or demonstrating His love toward others) are dissipated by our understanding more of who He is and our learning to trust and abide in Him. In this Christian walk, I struggled much of my life with this concept. I believed that by Grace He had saved me and that, in that sense He had demonstrated a type of love; but, I did not understand the very depth of His love. Because I did not understand the depth of His love, I lived in a fear of failure toward Him and was constantly waiting for Him to send some lightening bolt down from Heaven to destroy me. Fear of failure actually resulted in more failures. It was through many trials that He carried me to the knowledge of the depth of love that He has for me. When I abide in that love, all fear goes away and I am able to experience His love, His Peace, and His Joy. That is when I experience His perfect love and become better equipped to demonstrate that kind of unconditional love to others. When I allow the doubts and fears to return (usually after having spent less time in prayer and Study of His word because I see overwhelmingly the demands of the world upon me) then I become less reflective of that love to others. It is fully dependent on whether I remain with my gaze fixed upon Him or I allow my eyes to wander. So simple, look upon His Love to experience peace, joy, hope, and love; or gaze at myself or the world around me and experience chaos, sorrow, disenchantment, fear, and bitterness. So why do we ever look in a different direction? That is a question I have asked myself many times along this journey. What about you? So I will wage the battle to fight for that joy by spending time with Him, every morning, every night, and whenever I feel the beginning of fear whispering in my ear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5OwLHGv4yA
"Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)