Fearless love, something I’ve been wrestling with for a while now. Something I still don’t understand yet but I’m striving too. Something that plays a huge roll in living life for the Lord, at peace, and with true reckless abandon. It’s how Jesus taught us to love. It’s the kind of love the Bible talks about. It’s the rare kind of love that you catch every blue moon by certain people. It’s the kind of the love that doesn’t make sense. It’s the kind of love the Father has for each of us, so uniquely.
The other day, I woke up and saw a pink piece of paper taped above my bed. It read, “There’s no fear in love. Rest my love. –Papa” I smiled ear to ear because the night before I was almost arguing with God about fearless love. Arguing with Him because people who love with reckless abandon, extravagantly, and without reserve get crap about it. They get hated on because people fear what they don’t understand and people don’t understand love, especially fearless love. I was upset because I’m called to love above all and that will cost you something. 1 Corinthians 13:13, “But for right now, until that completeness, (“that completeness” is when all sin is gone and we finally see like God does. Somebody say amen!) We have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” Love extravagantly. What does that mean? How do you love extravagantly like this passage is talking about?
So my mind is turning and I’m talking to the Father that next morning after reading what my homie G Venning heard from the Father for me. Another phrase spinning in my head these days is, “Perfect love casts out fear.” The only “perfect love” I’ve ever experienced is from the Father so I thought maybe I should ask Him to define fearless love for me and what it looked like when He walked this earth. He said, “Go to Matthew 26.” We broke down 26 through 28 which is the last supper with His best friends leading up to the cross and then Him rising from the dead three days later. If that doesn’t explain fearless love, then I don’t know what ever will. Plus, going through it with the person who actually lived it is the koolest thing ever.
First things first, fearless love will cost you something, if not everything. It has cost me more then I ever thought I would be willing to give up. It cost Jesus everything.
Fearless love is constant in all things, failure and short comings. Matthew 26:31, “Then Jesus told them,” Before the night’s over, you’re going to fall to pieces because of what happens to me.” Then Matthew 26:33-35, “Peter broke in, “Even if everyone else else falls to pieces on account of you. I won’t.” “Don’t be so sure” Jesus said. “This very night, before the rooster crows up the dawn, you will deny me three times.” Peter protested, “Even if I had to deny with you, I would never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.” Later that night, one of Jesus’s best friends aka one of the disciples sold Him out for thirty silver cons. Basically fearless love knows that the people they love will fail them over and over again and it might even lead to there own death BUT fearless love is still constant in ALL things. I know I’ve not loved my friend when they just said a joking mean comment to me much less caused me to die… on cross… like are you kidding me. Fearless love man, doesn’t make any sense.
Fearless love, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7) When Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, “Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this.” Oh, here it is y’all, “But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?” (Matt. 26:39) This verse is one of my personal favorite things that Jesus actually said because it shows us how truly human He was. Human because He knew the pain He was about to endure for us. For our dirty, filthy, gross sin that we commit over and over again against our holy, loving, graceful Father every single day and his mercy is new every morning. He begged His Dad to take this cup from Him. He didn’t want to do it so much that He sweat blood. Just sit on that for a second or maybe a minute. BUT the fearless love hit. The 1 Corinthians 13:7 love hit Him, endure all things, hope in all things, believes in the Father and His plans in all things. Trusting that the Father has your best interest at heart in ALL things! Somebody better be shouting at there computer screen because that’s good right there. WOAH! WOOOAAAHHH! Just take another breather right there for a second. This is definitely about to be a run on paragraph so y’all better hold on tight. So wait, how could Jesus’s death be in His best interest? I know now how it’s in my best interest because I’m going to heaven and I have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe but it seems like Jesus got the short end of the stick here. It was in His best interest for us and for His Father. Our life is not our own anymore. Our life is for the Father and by Jesus dying He brought all His brothers and sisters back to His Father. He became the bridge we needed because of the fearless love He has for us and His Father. Plus, he took the keys from satan and then destroyed death and proved a bunch of haters wrong and saw His friends and then went back to heaven, which is way better then earth. So I would call that a win if I were you.
Fearless love faces all things head on with the Father. Matthew 26:46, “My time is up, The Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s go! My betrayer is here.” This would have been the perfect time to run. Jesus knew they were coming the whole time. He knew where and when but He stayed and faced it head on. He came to grips with the fact that His Father’s will was for Him to die this horrible death, so He would face it head on, with His Father. Matthew 26:47-51, “The words were barely out of His mouth when Judas showed up, and with him a gang from the high priests and religious leaders brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a sign with them: “The one I kiss, that’s the one-seize him.” He went straight to Jesus, greeting him, “How are you, Rabbi?” and kissed him.” Okay, best part right here. “Jesus said, “Friend, why this charade?” “Friend,” Jesus just called Judas friend. The person who He has spend the last three years of His life with, poring into, laughing with, teaching, and loving hard. They are friends and Judas is selling His greatest friend for thirty silver coins. There not even gold coins their silver, wow. If that’s not fearless love, I don’t know what is.
I heard the Father say to me after we finished breaking all of this down, “love will always prevail.” That’s always going to be true because it already has! It’s there for me and you always. It will always be there to pick you up over and over again. It never ends and it never will end. You can’t get away from this love. You can’t go to far to come back with my Papa, your Papa, your mama, your brother, your friend, or whatever you need Him to be, he will. You can’t lose. Spoiler, we won, already. I’ve heard that my whole life and knew it but stuff still hurt but just because it hurt, doesn’t mean you should give up.
I want to encourage you to ask Him the same thing and see where He’ll take you. There are examples and stories of fearless love all throughout the Bible and Papa has a story He would love to share with you too. Ask Him to engulf you in His never ending love also, it feels nice.
