In my short time of being a Christian, which means to me giving Jesus a wide-open invitation to come into my own heart and allow Him to be Lord of my life, I have been drawn to the conclusion the opposite of love is not hate, but rather indifference...when you simply no longer care what happens to someone else. The reason I do not think hate is the opposite of love is because love and hate have something in common....passion. Based on that premise, when you hate someone...there still remains that underlying current that you care about them...at least that is what I think.
Yet, in the Gospel of John, chapter 14 and verse 27 Jesus makes this statement: " I give you...Peace...My Peace. The Peace that I have for you is unlike any other peace you have ever known or experienced. The world cannot generate the kind of Peace I give you...it can only come...from Me. So rest assured with this thought: I am not leaving you...I never will. You will never again have to feel the pain of being abandoned. And with that, you have nothing to worry, nor do you have to allow your hearts to be troubled concerning this matter...there is nothing to be AFRAID of."
From that verse, I have come to recognize another factor concerning Christ Jesus and what is the opposite of His love for us...and that is fear....I must not allow fear to find its place in my own heart...for fear has a power all its own...and wants to cripple the love Christ Jesus has...for me and for anyone that has decided to take the chance and....follow Him.
1st John is a key to understanding fear and it's place in our lives. Although it is not absolutely sure who wrote 1 John, the Gospel of John written by John the Apostle and 1 John has very striking and similar writing techniques, leading to the conclusion by numerous Bible historians the John the Apostle wrote 1 John as well.
By the time of this writing of 1 John, John the Apostle...one of the Original...was a much older man. It is thought that this letter was written perhaps 50 to 50 years...after the Resurrection.
Some historians think John was the youngest of the 12 "Original", and could very well have been the last of the Apostles...to still be alive.
At this junction in his life, John had made his home in the city of Ephesus. Time had passed since the "early days", and some of the believers in the church had picked up and were believing things that were not accurate.
One train of thought was that Christ Jesus had not really been a man when He was here on earth. He may have looked as a man...but He really wasn't.
Other believers were "toying with the idea" that Jesus was "merely" a man...and that He really was not God. The rationale to this thought was: "How could God die?" The conclusion to all this was God was upon Him...until the Cross, then God made an "exit"...and then returned...later.
The Apostle John makes it abundantly clear in this letter...Jesus Christ is God, He is One with God, He has always been One with God, and died for us voluntarily and rose from the grips of Death...that sin would be permanently removed from our own lives, and give us the freedom to have a relationship....with God.
John dismissed the silly logic like: " The body is bad, but the spirit is good. True life is in the spirit. What we do with our earthly bodies...does not affect our spirits. So, it makes no difference how we choose to live now...we are in human bodies....when we die, and our bodies die and spirit lives...then we can be at one...with God." In other words, one can live for themselves now while here in earthly, physical bodies. Evil intentions and actions are not out of the question...after all, it is our spirit...that loves God.
John makes it clear these thoughts are ludicrous...both wrong and very false! John says when Christ calls us to Himself, then our earthly bodies and lives should compliment His love that now is within each one of us.
John wrote this letter...to encourage all believers.
A Gleaning from 1 John 4:17-18....
" As we continue to grow in our friendship with Christ Jesus, the love we have now...that comes from Him...and has found home in our own hearts...is being brought to a completion, finding with it a more permanent residence...each day within our daily earthly lives.
And with His love now finding home within our very own hearts, Christ Jesus is able to lead our lives...helping us to build confidence and finding a maturity...all from knowing Him!
It is then we can find our security knowing when someone mentions of the "Day of Judgment", we will not be a state of worry, becoming upset, or acknowledging wth a sense of apprehension in our own hearts...yes...that Day is fast approaching.
Here then lies the secret...to look forward to His Coming...and not have any fear on the Day of Judgment: the secret being there is simply...no room for this type of fear to operate in our own hearts...because our own individual hearts are now saturated...with Him! We don't have to worry...we don't have to dread...we don't have to fear any type of punishment. His love now living in us expels every trace of terror!
Fear is like having a crippling disease, and brings with it a fearful life...a fear of death...a fear of judgment...and a fear of punishment.
If these type of thoughts still remain at home, within the chambers of our own hearts, then we must make time and examine ourselves, and recognize the fact His love has not yet taken form in our lives...now...as we know it. We have not allowed ourselves to experience His love...in fact, we don't know the first thing on how to love....yet!"
Yet, in the Gospel of John, chapter 14 and verse 27 Jesus makes this statement: " I give you...Peace...My Peace. The Peace that I have for you is unlike any other peace you have ever known or experienced. The world cannot generate the kind of Peace I give you...it can only come...from Me. So rest assured with this thought: I am not leaving you...I never will. You will never again have to feel the pain of being abandoned. And with that, you have nothing to worry, nor do you have to allow your hearts to be troubled concerning this matter...there is nothing to be AFRAID of."
From that verse, I have come to recognize another factor concerning Christ Jesus and what is the opposite of His love for us...and that is fear....I must not allow fear to find its place in my own heart...for fear has a power all its own...and wants to cripple the love Christ Jesus has...for me and for anyone that has decided to take the chance and....follow Him.
1st John is a key to understanding fear and it's place in our lives. Although it is not absolutely sure who wrote 1 John, the Gospel of John written by John the Apostle and 1 John has very striking and similar writing techniques, leading to the conclusion by numerous Bible historians the John the Apostle wrote 1 John as well.
By the time of this writing of 1 John, John the Apostle...one of the Original...was a much older man. It is thought that this letter was written perhaps 50 to 50 years...after the Resurrection.
Some historians think John was the youngest of the 12 "Original", and could very well have been the last of the Apostles...to still be alive.
At this junction in his life, John had made his home in the city of Ephesus. Time had passed since the "early days", and some of the believers in the church had picked up and were believing things that were not accurate.
One train of thought was that Christ Jesus had not really been a man when He was here on earth. He may have looked as a man...but He really wasn't.
Other believers were "toying with the idea" that Jesus was "merely" a man...and that He really was not God. The rationale to this thought was: "How could God die?" The conclusion to all this was God was upon Him...until the Cross, then God made an "exit"...and then returned...later.
The Apostle John makes it abundantly clear in this letter...Jesus Christ is God, He is One with God, He has always been One with God, and died for us voluntarily and rose from the grips of Death...that sin would be permanently removed from our own lives, and give us the freedom to have a relationship....with God.
John dismissed the silly logic like: " The body is bad, but the spirit is good. True life is in the spirit. What we do with our earthly bodies...does not affect our spirits. So, it makes no difference how we choose to live now...we are in human bodies....when we die, and our bodies die and spirit lives...then we can be at one...with God." In other words, one can live for themselves now while here in earthly, physical bodies. Evil intentions and actions are not out of the question...after all, it is our spirit...that loves God.
John makes it clear these thoughts are ludicrous...both wrong and very false! John says when Christ calls us to Himself, then our earthly bodies and lives should compliment His love that now is within each one of us.
John wrote this letter...to encourage all believers.
A Gleaning from 1 John 4:17-18....
" As we continue to grow in our friendship with Christ Jesus, the love we have now...that comes from Him...and has found home in our own hearts...is being brought to a completion, finding with it a more permanent residence...each day within our daily earthly lives.
And with His love now finding home within our very own hearts, Christ Jesus is able to lead our lives...helping us to build confidence and finding a maturity...all from knowing Him!
It is then we can find our security knowing when someone mentions of the "Day of Judgment", we will not be a state of worry, becoming upset, or acknowledging wth a sense of apprehension in our own hearts...yes...that Day is fast approaching.
Here then lies the secret...to look forward to His Coming...and not have any fear on the Day of Judgment: the secret being there is simply...no room for this type of fear to operate in our own hearts...because our own individual hearts are now saturated...with Him! We don't have to worry...we don't have to dread...we don't have to fear any type of punishment. His love now living in us expels every trace of terror!
Fear is like having a crippling disease, and brings with it a fearful life...a fear of death...a fear of judgment...and a fear of punishment.
If these type of thoughts still remain at home, within the chambers of our own hearts, then we must make time and examine ourselves, and recognize the fact His love has not yet taken form in our lives...now...as we know it. We have not allowed ourselves to experience His love...in fact, we don't know the first thing on how to love....yet!"
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