​Free to Love in a World Torn by Fear

Exercising Our God-Given Ability
​to Love in a World Torn by Fear

In a line of expressionless, masked faces spaced six feet apart, people of all ages, colors, backgrounds, and ethnicities wait. They wait to walk into stores where they will cringe at touching what other fingers have touched and leave quickly to sanitize their hands and stay home where it is safe from:
 

• Germs. 
• Violence and riots. 
• Racial tension. ​ 

Unfortunately, they are not safe from the lies and prejudices of this sinful world that continually bombard them through television screens, Internet ads, and social media rants.

We may be blessed with freedom, but in a sinful world, that freedom becomes limited through our fear of what other people will do and think. We live in a tumultuous time, where emotions, prejudices, and lies blind us to Truth. Sin’s deception freezes our hearts in fear of:
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• What freedoms we might lose.
• Where our country is heading.
• How the disease, prejudice, and violence pervading our country might affect us personally. 

As Christians living in this blessed nation, we need to remember Who gives us our true freedom. Our freedom does not come from:
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• Government. 
• Earthly citizenship.
• The peace, security, and prosperity we may be accustomed to.

Our true freedom comes from our position as Christ’s beloved.

When Jesus saved us from our sin, He freed us from its bondage. That means, unlike those who are drowning in bitterness and fear in our current social and economic climate, we are free from fear. 

We don’t have to hate those who have wronged us, because Christ has already paid the penalties for their crimes, demonstrating His love and forgiveness in the face of evil.

We don’t have to fear a recession, because we are assured, as God’s people, that He will take care of us no matter what happens. He knows our needs and the needs of our nation.

In a year in which nothing went the way it was supposed to—at least in our human minds—God is still in control. We can rest in His sovereignty in the face of chaos and uncertainty.

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7

And maybe that is why God has chosen to bring this time of turmoil to our world. So that we as His people can be the:

• Calm in the storm.
• Peace in the war.
• Light in the darkness.
• Love in the bitterness. 

We are free to love and live generously when others are torn apart by anger and loss. 

Because of Christ, we His people are free to love others as He loved us. ​

In this time of turmoil, how have you and your family been able to be the calm in someone's storm, the peace in the war, light in the darkness, or love in the bitterness?

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