Living As Children

See what love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 1 John 3:1a

I was thinking about this the other day when it suddenly hit me in a whole new and deeper way.

Have you ever watched a little child? They live with with abandon. They’re fearless. Children don’t care if people think their actions are strange or silly and they trust that those around them will keep them from harm. Until they are taught to fear.

So what is fear and how does it enter our lives? Someone yells at a child for being too loud, they get in trouble for making a mess, they aren’t caught when they jump, or they are ignored. Something happens that makes them wonder, “Does ____ really love me?” See, at its core, fear is the absence (or perceived absence) of love. The places in our lives where fear rules are the places where we have stopped believing in God’s love for us.

When we trust in someone’s love for us, we assume that all their actions toward us are motivated by that love, even if we don’t understand. Sin starts when we stop trusting that God loves us unconditionally. We can go all the way back to the garden and see that sin first entered this world when the serpent convinced Eve that God was withholding good and she began to question God. And along came fear, causing man to run from God. But God’s love for us is unconditional and has no limits.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son… 1 John 4:10

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

God loves us even at our worst. If we truly began to grasp this truth, we would once again become like children - fearless and confident of being loved.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Can you imagine a life free from fear? I can. I’ve tasted it in moments where I became so focused on God and His glory that I forgot all else. It’s an amazing experience. But then I lose focus and forget God’s love. Bam! Fear is there once again holding me captive with all the “what if’s” that end with someone not loving me. But that isn’t how children of God are called to live because we have been given a new identity that comes straight from our Father.

For You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow co-heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:15-17

Maybe you’re not there yet and you still live with a lot of fear. I know I do. Fear affects many of the choices I makes each day. (Which means it’s also affecting my future.) But God doesn’t just leave us hanging. He promises to be with us and fulfill all His promises.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20b

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

And that my friends, is reason to celebrate with fearless abandon. It’s time to party!