Posts tagged Fear

Current Tunage: Mars ILL – Love’s Not
Love. What is it? A solid or a liquid?
The question resonates from inner space to outer limits.

I did something really “afraidy” yesterday, at least, it’s “afraidy” to me. If I told most of you what exactly it was, you would likely endure a few minutes of snorting, chuckling quietly, and looking for a corner to duck into while trying not to laugh uproariously in my face… but I’m me, and you’re you. It was something risky, but I needed to do it, partly because of something I learned about love and fear. I’m gonna keep this as short as I can (and when I say that, it helps me actually try to). Here goes:

Two clarifications must be made before we go further – we must define our terms. What “fear” and “love” are we speaking of?

The Bible has two separate ideas that become the word “fear” when translated into English . The first is found in a number of words, but the primary example is the Hebrew word ירא (yârê’), pronounced yaw-ray’. It is used in reference to the manner in which we are to “fear” God – with moral reverence and awe. The second is found most significantly in the Greek word φόβος (phobos), pronounced fob’-os. It is used in reference to being afraid, terrified, or otherwise in alarm or fright. In this post, I am speaking of this second type of fear; terror, alarm, fright.

As for love, the New Testament has a number of words translated “love” in English… largely because the Greeks had different words for different kinds of love, differentiating between platonic love, sexual love, filial love, and so on. One of the flaws (if I can say that) of English is that rather than making new words for things, we often just tag on more adjectives. Ours is a language of bloat! Regardless, the sort of love we’ll be examining here is captured in the Greek word ἀγάπη (agapē), pronounced ag-ah’-pay. Agape gives perhaps the most well-rounded and full version of love of any of the Greek love words. In it are the ideas of affection, benevolence, charity, dearness, and abundance (love feast).

These kinds of fear and love (if I can go out on a limb and call them the primary kinds, then I will) are mentioned together quite a bit in scripture, but I’m going to focus in on two texts I came across yesterday while doing some study amidst fears of my own:

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The word “Spirit” in this verse can be problematic to some, but the essential idea of the Greek word being translated is the rational soul, the mental disposition, the vital principle. Our disposition (attitude, intentions, motives) should not be ruled by fear. If it is, then that is evidence of a measure of absence concerning God’s power, love, and self-control at work in us. Essentially this means that for those of us who know Christ, as those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we have no excuse to be afraid of anything. If I’m afraid of something or someone, it is evidence I need to make myself more dependent on the Lord to birth His power, love, and self-control in me; all of which are interconnected. As with anything good, we cannot truly love in our depravity and fallen natures. Only by the Spirit’s enabling and teaching (and through our walking daily with Him and dying to sin) can we understand and practice love and cast out fear:

1 John 4:18 ESV
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Fear and love are diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive. They don’t mix. If you’re afraid of someone (or something), you don’t really love them (or it), at least in a biblical sense. If we grow in love, we grow out of fear. Perfect love is perfectly without fear.

Briefly, love is a lot of things. 1 Corinthians 13 goes through a lengthy discourse on the subject, and captures a lot of complicated and ultimately impossible things (impossible if we are living in separation from God, of course). Some of the basic ideas are as follows: Love is self-centric in that it inwardly motivates us to become more like Christ (who is Love personified in a sense), to purge sin in our lives, and to grow in “others-centricism”. Love is others-centric in action, practice, attitude, and disposition. Love is perpetually ready and willing to help, to sacrifice (give expecting nothing in return), non-demanding, endlessly patient, filled with kindness, active and not passive, humble and broken, single-minded and focused, and decision-rooted (modeled on covenant). Love destroys feelings that harm/hinder, and embraces those which prioritize the Lord and others and consider them first and foremost, exclusive to self-thought.

…and as I’ve learned in the last couple days: Love is fearless, bold, and confident. It finds all of those things not in the fallen self, but in the Lord Christ who defines Love and is the source of genuine fearless agapē love.

So, let’s love people… and do the “afraidy” things that will help them see Jesus.

“Love is patient and kind, love is sight for the blind,
Love was born before the morning, love’s transforming your mind.
Love is body and blood, bread and wine, remember the time:
Love is God divine, crucified for mankind.”
-Mars ILL “Love’s Not”