At one point, we lived in a coastal town not far from where the NO FEAR brand was born. According to Wikipedia, this American lifestyle clothing company created its popular logo, along with slogans and quotes. It was later sold to a company in the UK.
NO FEAR advocated the virtues of extreme sports. I’ve watched a variety of them on TV, but rarely for long. The participants are certainly not lazy or held back by a fear of death. They are worthy of admiration, but I’ve never desired to join them.
I prefer to focus on a different version of no fear. Just recently I’ve been inspired by a new look at an old verse. I John 4:18 (NIV): There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.
It dawned on me a few days ago that I’ve always looked at that as if we were at fault for not loving God enough. But today I see it as not trusting Him enough. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son as the perfect sacrifice to take away our sins. (John 3:16)
It’s awesome to know that when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple that separated people from the holy of holies was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51 NIV). From that time on we were to enter God’s presence through Jesus, seated at the Father’s right hand (Hebrews 10:12 NKJV). There would be no more animal sacrifices for sin.
Read The Book of Psalms and you’ll find repeated references to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Who could be more worthy of trust and love than someone with those two characteristics?
So where do you stand in your relationship with God? Psalm 51, David’s prayer of repentance, shows no fear. Instead, he rejoiced in God’s loving kindness and tender mercies.
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