Perfect Love

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

1 John 4:18

God doesn't want His children to live in fear of judgment. The man who has placed his trust in Jesus Christ has nothing to dread. The woman who knows Christ as her Savior can approach God confidently. We "fear" God in the sense of reverence, as a child respects his father, but we do not cringe before the Lord.  A believer in Jesus Christ has no fear of the past, present or future. Our sins have already been judged at the cross and God will not bring them against us again. God now treats us as He treats His own Son, whom He loves. There is nothing to fear in the future, for we can never be separated from the Lord. Death only ushers us into His glorious presence where He welcomes us home. If you are living in fear of God's judgment, it can only mean one of two things. Either you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, or you have not yet been "perfected in love", which means you have not matured in your relationship with God.  Fear departs from us as we grow in the love of the Lord.