“There is no fear in love. But
perfect love drives out fear…” 1 John 4:18
I have a fear of mice. A medical
term for it is Musophobia.
It’s strange to me because when I was a small child I used to be able to hold
mice and not be afraid. Then with age my fear increased. There is no
explanation for it, but at the mere site of even a mouse on TV or an animated
mouse, I get anxiety. I laugh at myself because it sounds ridiculous that at
the age of 24 I should be scared of a mouse. I can’t even watch Ratatouille
without disgust. But I can’t help it.
Phobias
are strange. Did you know
that there is such a thing as philophobia? — The fear of love.
A phobia is technically described as a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it. And I think as absurd as
this sounds to me, it simultaneously makes sense. People are afraid to love
because people are afraid of getting hurt. The idea of inconsequential love is
sometimes hard to believe from human perspective. Because from human
perspective, love brings hurt; it’s risky. We make mistakes. But God doesn’t.
His perfect love casts out fear. The worst aspect of fearing love is that it
keeps a person in solitude. And solitude is the exact opposite of human nature.
Just as people have unexplainable fears, I think fear also stems from
ignorance. Ignorance can be similar to fear in that they both focus on the
unknown. Sometimes it’s difficult to comprehend the fullness of love because we
don’t understand grace; we’re ignorant of it. Ignorance and fear are two
primary methods Satan uses to keep people from understanding God’s love. Regardless
of fear or ignorance, we were made to love because he first loved us. God
created us specifically to love and be loved by him.
This
past Tuesday I helped lead a discussion with a small group of gypsy women about
God’s love. We talked about what God really means when he tells us he loves us.
And there was a lot of confusion. Some women were confused about the idea that
God loves us regardless of the works we commit. That it doesn’t matter what we
do because we could never do enough to earn God’s love. In Romans it says, “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Most of these women come from very dark
backgrounds where love equates to sex. It’s the only form of love some of them
have ever experienced. So to them a God that loves beyond the physical doesn’t
make sense. But it was amazing to see them explore the idea that God created
them out of love. And that whatever they do could not make him love them less. The world is not moved by love or actions that
are of human creation. God created love. God is love.
I’m
still learning and always will be. But
the more I trust in his love, the more I learn about different aspects of love;
and how to love people better. So I urge you to seek after the fullness of
God’s love today. –To seek after him amidst fear and pray for understanding.
“Pray at the
level of insecurity and fear. Begin with your greatest anxiety because fears
parallel your deepest desires. We are to pray until the peace comes.
Circumstances which you have no control over should not control your character.
Your character is the result of what God’s done in you. Capture the emotion
associated with God’s grace and mercy in your life.” -Andy Stanley on Philippians 4:4-9
