Perfect Love

[JamalChristophr]

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.”

1 John 4:18

Could you please share your understanding of this verse, in terms of love for God and love between persons? I’d like to hear what this verse means in your thinking and daily life.

 

[fhansen]

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.”

1 John 4:18

Could you please share your understanding of this verse, in terms of love for God and love between persons? I’d like to hear what this verse means in your thinking and daily life.

Man’s justice consists of love; it is our righteousness, holiness, that which justifies us, that which fulfills the law, which is why the greatest commandments are what they are. God, ‘apart from Whom we can do nothing’, perfects us in love, doing a work of justification/salvation in us as we cooperate with Him in it. This is the New Covenant in essence. And this is a process, of God putting His law on our minds and writing it in our hearts, completed to the degree that we love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. The more we know God the less we fear Him, in terms of fear of punishment, because we know that He is love. The more we know Him, the more we love Him.

 

[josh987654321]

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.”

1 John 4:18

Could you please share your understanding of this verse, in terms of love for God and love between persons? I’d like to hear what this verse means in your thinking and daily life.

Jesus to Catalina -
"Think about Love and certain fears will vanish."

Jesus to Catalina -
"The soul who truly loves, does not keep count of how much it has suffered or labored, nor does it expect this or that reward, but it seeks only that which it believes glorifies its God… For Him it spares neither labors nor weariness. It does not become agitated or restless, far from it, for it does not lose its peace if it finds itself thwarted or humiliated, because the only motive for its actions is love, and love abandons the consequences and the results."

For me, I believe it means doing God’s will without consideration for the consequences and results, as I believe perfect love is too focused on the love that can be shown, rather than the consequences or results that must/may be endured in order to show that love.

I believe fear comes from the thought of the consequences and results of our actions, whereas perfect love abandons the consequences and results and thus why perfect love casts fear out.
Jesus to Catalina:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**"Contemplate My wounds and see if there is anyone who has suffered as much as I, to show their love…

"Contemplate for a moment these bloodstained hands and feet… This naked body, covered with wounds, with urine, and blood. Dirty… This head punctured by sharp thorns, soaked in sweat, full of dust, and covered in Blood…

"Contemplate your Jesus, hanging on the Cross, without being able to make the slightest movement… naked, without fame, without honor, without liberty…

"Contemplate Me in the image of the Christ that weeps and bleeds. There and in this way the world has Me**

http://s15.postimg.org/s9fu5lkbv/Crucifixion.jpg
Jesus to Catalina:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**1) …Look at Me, My beloved ones. Letting Myself be led with the meekness of a lamb to the terrible torture of the scourging. On My Body, already covered with blows and overwhelmed with fatigue, the executioners cruelly discharge terrible lashes with braided rope, with rods. They punish Me so violently that there was no part of Me which was not prey to the most terrible pain… The blows and the kicks caused Me countless wounds… The rods tore away pieces of My skin and flesh. Blood flowed from all My limbs. Time after time I fell because of the pain caused by the blows to My manliness. My Body was in such a state that I resembled a monster more than a man. The features of My face had lost their shape; it was all swollen.

1. The thought of so many souls, who would later be inspired to follow My footsteps, consumed Me with Love.**

Jesus to Catalina:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**5) The fatigue that I feel is so great and the Cross so heavy that halfway along the path, I fall from weakness. See how those inhuman men lift Me up in the most brutal manner. One grabs My arm, another pulls My clothes that are stuck to My wounds, tearing them open again… This one grabs Me by the neck, another by the hair; others discharge dreadful blows to My whole Body, with their fists, and even with their feet. The Cross falls upon Me and with its weight causes new wounds. My face is scraped by the stones in the road and the blood which runs down My face sticks to My eyes that are almost closed because of the blows they have received. The dust and the mud mingle with the blood and I am turned into the most repugnant of objects.

1. My Father sends Angels to help support Me so that My Body does not lose consciousness when it falls, so that the battle may not be won before its time and all My souls are lost.
2. I walk over the stones that destroy My feet. I stumble and fall time and time again. I look at both sides of the road, searching for the slightest look of love, of surrender, of union with My pain, but… I do not see anyone.
3. My children, you who follow in My footsteps, do not let go of your cross no matter how heavy it seems to you. Do it for Me because by carrying your cross, you will help Me carry Mine, and on the difficult path, you will find My Mother and the holy souls who will give you encouragement and comfort.**

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[Robert_Sock]

The beginning of wisdom is fear of G-d
– Proverbs 1:7

And wisdom comes from experiencing God’s higher-ordered LOVE.

Personally, I still often feel fearful living in this world, but not when I’m experiencing God’s LOVE. These two things really do seem to be incompatible with each other.

LOVE!

 

[josh987654321]

The beginning of wisdom is fear of G-d
– Proverbs 1:7

And wisdom comes from experiencing God’s higher-ordered LOVE.

Personally, I still often feel fearful living in this world, but not when I’m experiencing God’s LOVE. These two things really do seem to be incompatible with each other.

LOVE!

I believe that the ‘fear of God’ that is talked about is almost always taken the wrong way, as another poster once said that it isn’t the fear of ‘being punnished’ but rather the fear of ‘letting down, rejecting or failing the one you love’ I used to assume it was the former, but it wasn’t until after reading stuff from St Faustina and Catalina, that I really began to understand the latter.

I just thought I would add that, as I always used to take that passage the wrong way as if God was just waiting to punnish us all.
Jesus to Catalina:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

I want to teach sinners that because they have sinned, they should not distance themselves from Me thinking that they no longer have recourse and that they will never be loved as before they sinned. Poor souls! These are not the feelings of a God who has shed all His Blood for you. Come to Me all of you and fear not, because I love you. I will cleanse you with My Blood and you will be as white as snow. I will drown your sins in the water of My Mercy and nothing will be able to snatch from My Heart the Love that I have for you.

Jesus to St. Faustina -

"My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy" (Diary, 1485).

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[Nihilist]

It seems there is a relationship of love and fear. I fear God- I fear Hell. Do I love God? I hope so, but a lot of the time I feel angry with Him.

But this is only the ‘small God’ I fear and am angry with- an image of the ‘bully who made and rules the world’.

The real God is the God beyond this- the infinite, the unknowable, the Void that Transcends Everything.

This I do not fear, but only love.

 

[houston1]

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.”

1 John 4:18

Could you please share your understanding of this verse, in terms of love for God and love between persons? I’d like to hear what this verse means in your thinking and daily life.

1 John 4:18 is my favorite Bible verse. Thanks for reminding me of it. In practical terms and for me personally, when I face anything and anyone that cause me fear I take it to be God’s invitation to face it and work through it. The exception, of course, are appropriate *fears * related to near occasions of sins and imprudent risks for safety and the like.

For example, if I sense that I am intimidated by certain persons or situations that cause me to cower and avoid doing the good that I would otherwise do, I believe that God is calling me to courageously face these persons and situations in spite of my fears.

Another example would be failing to stand up for truth in front of others when one is too concerned about the opinions of others as opposed to the opinion of God. So, when one fails to make the sign of the cross, e.g., because of the fear of what people might think, this displeases God. Also, failing to speak up against the sins that go against charity and justice, e.g. abortion, when it is clear that God has given one an opportunity to do so displeases God. Even the fear of public speaking could be a fear that can be overcome with perfect love.

I believe that perfect love of Jesus is when one desires the will of God more than his or her own will and acts accordingly to the promptings to the Holy Spirit. This person is obedient to these promptings even when it entails a sacrifice of oneself. Perfect love really moves one out of one’s comfort zone.

Lastly, when one does fail to exercise *perfect love *by fleeing instead of embracing opportunities presented by the Holy Spirit, one should gently ask God for forgiveness and then courageously try again. Jesus said numerous times not to fear. So, even when we sin, we should not fear but trust that God will use everything for our own good (Rm. 8:28). At all times, we should be at peace and not lose hope that God will bring us to where we need to be. After all, He loves us more than we love ourselves. So, why should we fear?

houston1