For or Against? | 1 John 4:18–19

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” (1 John 4:18–19 NLT)

I heard a story about a thief who broke into a house. He was looking around in the dark with his flashlight when he heard a voice say, “Jesus is watching you!” The thief nearly jumped out of his skin. He wondered, “Where did that voice come from?”

Again, he heard it. “Jesus is watching you!” Now the thief was terrified. He followed the sound of the voice with his flashlight and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a parrot on a perch, who once again said, “Jesus is watching you!”

The thief laughed. Then he looked down, and at the foot of the parrot’s perch was a very large Doberman pinscher, baring his teeth.

The parrot looked down at the Doberman and said, “Sic ’em, Jesus.”

That’s a joke, of course. But there are people who believe that the Lord is out to get them or, at the very least, that He is against them.

It’s a lie, a common strategy of our spiritual enemy. Jesus said, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 NLT).

The suggestion that God is against us is an especially brazen lie—one intended to persuade people to keep their distance from the Lord. It’s brazen because it contradicts one of the most important truths of Scripture.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT).

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT).

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:10 NLT).

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first” (1 John 4:18–19 NLT).

Why would the Lord show such love and sacrifice so much if He were against us?

Many Christians refer to their conversion as “the day I found the Lord.” But that’s not quite accurate. The truth is, He wasn’t lost—we were. Certainly, one day we discovered a God who loved us. But God found us before we found Him. He chose us before we chose Him. Jesus sought us out as a shepherd looks for a lost sheep.

The truth is, no one is more for us than the Lord.

Reflection question: How can you keep from believing that God is against you? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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