15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (1 John 4:15-21 – NASB)
Loving a person is a risk-taking action. When we love, we are putting ourselves in a situation that we may get hurt. When we love, there is a chance that the love we receive is not equal to the love we give. Love takes courage because the outcome of loving can be disappointing, frustrating and upsetting. In the Bible, it strangely says, “there is no fear in love” and “perfect love casts out fear”. We have fear in love because our love (human love) is not perfect. There are so many things we would consider before taking the step to love. The more we think about the love factors, the more we will step away from it. However, if we abide in God, His perfect love is in us. With His perfect love, all the love factors are no longer the factors to love. We no longer need to calculate the costs of love. We love simply because God first loved us.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)
