Lovely.

Fear vs. Love

This is the other dichotomy you’ll need to understand in order to get a better understanding of Christianity and what it really is. We’re wired for love. Scientists know this. Fear is a learned thing. Children who grow up among wild animals never learn to fear them. I’m sure you’ve seen that in the many hours you’ve spent on YouTube. C’mon, I know we both do it.

Anyway, fear and love, just like blessing and cursing, are a dichotomy. For those of you who don’t like big words, that means they’re opposites.

Check out 1 John 4:8-19 (NLT):

⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. ¹³ And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. ¹⁸ Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. ¹⁹ We love each other because he loved us first.

That’s better than I could ever explain it. Love is what we all attain to. It’s what we all want. Whether you’re a Christian or not, think about it. Your whole life revolves around love. It’s not something many of us think about on a daily basis, but it’s true. Our lives are centered on love, and we’ve learned to fear.

The tricky bit is learning to cut that fear out of our lives and be utterly centered on God. It takes the renewal of the mind to do such a thing. And before you ask, yes, it is scientifically possible to change your brain, to alter the way you think, and even to correct brokenness in your mind.

Check out this video from Dr. Caroline Leaf: 

I highly recommend her book, Who Switched Off My Brain? – you can find copies on Amazon and on her personal website. If you’re interested in learning more about fear vs. love or about how your brain really works and how to live a better life through renewing your mind, I definitely suggest checking out her work.

[love]

{Rani Divine}