7th Sunday of Easter (B), May 28, 2006

Texts: Acts 1:15-26, 1 John 4:13-21, John 17:11b-19

Perfect Love Drives Out Fear

An aerosol propellant called 1,1,1-trichloroethane, used in spray cans of household cleaners, is toxic when the product is used improperly. John Broder wrote in the New York Times: In the early 1980’s, teenagers discovered they could get high by spraying the cleaner into a plastic bag and breathing the propellant fumes. The label on the can clearly warned of death or serious injury if the product was inhaled, said Victor E. Schwartz, a Washington lawyer, but some young people ignored it, leading to at least one death. In order to avoid a lawsuit the company suggested making the warning larger, but Mr. Schwartz argued against it, saying that teenagers might assume there was more of the propellant in the product. “What do kids worry about more than death or injury?” Mr. Schwartz asked his clients. “How they look, of course. So we wrote the warning to say that sniffing the stuff could cause hair loss or facial disfigurement. It doesn’t, but it scared the target audience and we haven’t had a liability claim since then.”

What we fear controls us. What we fear points to what we value the most. Some of us fear not being liked by our friends, some fear getting old or getting some painful medical condition; some fear losing financial security or their jobs. Others fear getting caught cheating or doing something they shouldn’t. Any of these fears are unnecessary and point to a lack of trust in God. For there is only one kind of healthy fear, and that is fearing God. I am not talking about being afraid of God, but fear of losing God’s favour. That indeed would be a fearful reality.

Thankfully, God has dealt with all our fears. He has done that by offering us His perfect love -- a love so perfect that it drives out all fear (1 John 4:18). We no longer fear anything, because the God who created the world and made everything that exists is our “daddy.” He promises to look after all our needs. No matter what may happen to us, even if we should die, it is nothing He can’t handle. All He asks us is to trust Him. We demonstrate that trust by letting go of our fears and learning to love our brother and neighbour.

Perhaps you think, “That is easy to say. How can I be sure God will look after me?” That is a fair question, for love requires evidence. It requires action and proof in order for it to be real. Even in a marriage it is important for the partners to regularly communicate their love for each other, not only through words, but also concrete actions. Love, in order for it to be real, requires genuine proofs.

So what evidence does God give us so we can “believe” His love? I have been able to identify six proofs of God’s love. Six ways in which God communicates His perfect love with us. The first is demonstrated by the actions of His own Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus offered His life for us on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. That God would be willing to sacrifice the one relationship that matters most to Him is a clear demonstration of His love for us: That while we were still His enemies, Christ Jesus died for us.

The second way God demonstrates his perfect love is that He is willing to forgive us all our sins on account of Jesus without any conditions. God does not limit his love or condition it on how we respond to His love. His love is perfect because it is unconditional.

The third way God demonstrates His love is providing us with a faithful testimony of His love, one which can be fully trusted. We heard the Apostle John say, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14). All twelve apostles were faithful eye-witnesses of God’s love, confirming it by being willing to sacrifice their own lives so that we might know for certain the reliability of what they testify; this testimony has been preserved in our Scriptures.

The fourth demonstration of God’s love is the Holy Spirit whom God sends into our own hearts. God’s Spirit testifies of God’s love, as John writes, “We know that we live in Christ and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). The Holy Spirit helps us to believe God’s promises and applies them to our lives when we, for example, are Baptized into Christ. At that point we are given God’s name, which, as Jesus remarks in His high priestly prayer, has the power to keep us safe: “I protected them and kept them safe by that Name you gave me” (John 17:12). The Holy Spirit also applies God’s promise to love us when we come to the Lord’s Table. There our Lord offers us His body and blood that we may be united with Him in His death, receive the forgiveness of all our sins, and be united to Him in His resurrection, receiving the gift of eternal life. Thus, through the work of the Holy Spirit we are truly sanctified, made holy and perfect, by God’s superabundant love.

The fifth way God proves His love to us is by promising to answer our prayers, which are offered in faith. God promises to care for all our needs. I can personally testify that there is not one single instance where I have asked the Lord for something when I was in a time of need, that He did not answer me and provide for that need. In fact, I can say that God’s provision always proved far greater than my own faith in Him.

The sixth and final way God shows His love is through the brotherly love we experience in the fellowship of believers. Here God’s love is embodied among us, in how we relate and care for another. Here in the church God has called us together from all over the world from all walks of life to embody His love in ways that are foreign to our world that is full of fear and prejudice.

To recap, I believe there are at least six undeniable testimonies or proofs God gives us that demonstrate the reality of His great love for us, so that we should no longer have to fear anything. It is demonstrated 1) by His willingness of sacrifice His own Son for me and you; 2) by the fact that God forgives us all our sins and welcomes us into His family unconditionally; 3) by providing us with faithful witnesses to His love which produced the Holy Scriptures as a trustworthy testimony to His love; 4) by giving us His Holy Spirit which testifies to our own hearts of the power and reality of God’s love; 5) by promising to answer our prayers; and 6) by letting us experience His love from each other in the Christian fellowship.

In order to grow in our experience of that love, there is one more important first step we must take: We must admit that fear is a great part of our lives. Only as we admit our sinful reliance on things that cannot satisfy us, can God’s love drive out our fear and bring us true peace and joy. At times God will allow troubles to enter our lives in order to help us recognize our fears so we may learn to put our trust in the One who alone can overcome them: Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One through whom we receive the love of God that drives out fear and brings true joy and peace.

The Bible talks about these spiritual blessings of God as treasures in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7-18). Our bodies are those earthen vessels that contain that great treasure of God. And as our earthen vessels wear away and break, the treasure that is within becomes exposed and more visible. Too often we pay more attention to the earthen clay jar of our bodies that we neglect the far more valuable love that God has placed within us. It would be better for us to focus less on what is wrong with us and our world and more on the gifts that are ours in Christ. Then we will begin to taste a new love, joy, and peace that are from God.

On the one hand, our earthen vessels, our bodies are wasting away. But on the other hand, the treasure of God’s love shines brighter each day as we near our heavenly goal. That renewal will find its final fulfillment when Christ returns to raise us from the grave and clothe us with new and glorious bodies like His own resurrection body; bodies that will not see corruption or decay, sickness or suffering.

Now may God’s grace remove all fear from your hearts and minds and keep them in perfect peace through His perfect love in Christ our Lord. Amen.