Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

The ministry we have been doing in Chile, mixed with the things God is working out in me have produced some really cool results. This month has done some amazing things in my heart when it comes to evangelism!

For those who may not know, evangelism is simply sharing the good news of Christ with people who either have never heard it before or do not believe. On the other side of that, discipleship is coming along side of those who already have a relationship with Christ and helping them grow in that. (These are just the definitions I came up with on the spot. I am sure there are better ones out there but for the sake of this blog I feel these will do.)

For so long I said that I really enjoyed discipleship more than evangelism. And I think I would probably still say that. Discipleship is just fun! I love helping people learn new things about God and get excited about Him. But to be honest, for a long time evangelism scared me. I don’t know how willing I would have been to admit it, but it makes a lot of sense. I believe that sharing the gospel with people is the one thing Satan doesn’t want us to do most. So of course, he is going to put fear in us. But this month has sparked something in me that has driven so much of that fear out.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and of sound mind”  

A couple summers ago working at camp, this was our theme verse. I taught a lot of kids about what it looked like to share the gospel without fear, not fully understanding it myself. That summer I learned that this verse isn’t just talking about any fear you may face. It is talking specifically about the fear you have when it comes to sharing the gospel.

This verse tells me that through God I do not have to have a spirit of fear, but that I can have one of love.

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear.”

This verse tells me that where there is love, there cannot be fear.

I think that these two verses really help me to understand what has started happening in my heart this month. I am really starting to actually love these people I have never met before. My chest aches sometimes from wanting some of these people to have a personal relationship with the Lord. This comes from being in one of the best places I have ever been in my life. No, I don’t mean traveling— although that is fun. I’m talking about the place I am in my relationship with God. He is helping me love people I would have never been able to love this way before.

A few days ago my team and I went into a drug and alcohol rehab clinic to do a bible study. There I got to speak to men and women, young and old. I told them about my testimony with depression and the things God has done in my life. I shared with them the love that God has for them and the relief of pain there is in Christ. I told them that Jesus has the power to wash them completely clean.

The whole time I was there I couldn’t get away from the thought that I was exactly like them. I am so so broken. And I NEED Jesus no less than they do. It’s easy to see people and think, “Thank God I am not like that” or “I would NEVER do that. I would NEVER let myself get to that point” Well guess what? You were born at that point. We all were. We were all born equally broken in the eyes of the Lord and nothing good or bad we do can change that to make our position better or worse.

What we can do is surrender it all to God and let him take care of it for us. Let him put us in a position where we don’t have to pay the price of death for eternity, but instead get to live in abundant life.

This month in Chile we have done street evangelism, hospital evangelism, and beach evangelism (Lots of evangelism). I have walked up to countless people I don’t know just to be able to tell them how much God loves them. I don’t have a script I’ve memorized about how Jesus dies on the cross for them. While sometimes I do get to tell them that, that’s not really how God works. He is not a God that works off of a script. He is so much more personal. I listen to the Holy Spirit minute by minute and just try to obey what I believe He is telling me. If that means just going up to someone and asking if I can pray for them then I’ll do it. If it looks like saying, “You are deeply known and deeply loved by God.” to the guy sitting alone on the beach then let’s go. It doesn’t have to be weird or awkward. And let me just say God does some really really cool things when we step forward in small acts of obedience.

Evangelism has actually been super fun this month. I have enjoyed it more than I thought I ever would. But one of my favorite things I got to do this month was an evangelism session with the youth group we have been working with. We got to teach them about what evangelism is, why we do it, and what it could look like. They practiced sharing their testimonies, and I got to teach them how to share the Gospel. So I would have to say that I still LOVE discipleship and helping people understand the Bible, but this month I Have found myself so full of the love of Christ that I can truly understand what it means for perfect love to cast out fear.