Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “You shall LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

1 John 4:15-20 NKJV

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have KNOWN and BELIEVED the LOVE that God has for us. GOD IS LOVE, and HE WHO ABIDES IN LOVE ABIDES IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE; BUT PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR, BECAUSE FEAR INVOLVES TORMENT. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 NLT

GOD SHOWED HIS GREAT LOVE FOR US BY SENDING CHRIST TO DIE FOR US WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.

Isaiah 53:1-12 NLT

Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed His powerful arm? My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him. He was despised and rejected—A MAN OF SORROWS, ACQUAINTED WITH DEEPEST GRIEF. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was PIERCED for our rebellion, CRUSHED for our sins. He was BEATEN so we could be whole. He was WHIPPED so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD LAID ON HIM THE SINS OF US ALL. He was OPPRESSED and TREATED HARSHLY, yet He never said a word. He was LED LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth. UNJUSTLY CONDEMNED, He was led away. NO ONE CARED that He died without descendants, that HIS LIFE WAS CUT SHORT in midstream. But He was STRUCK DOWN for the rebellion of My people. HE HAD DONE NO WRONG AND HAD NEVER DECEIVED ANYONE. BUT HE WAS BURIED LIKE A CRIMINAL; He was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush Him and cause Him grief. Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in His hands. When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied. And because of His experience, My righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for He will bear all their sins. I will give Him the honors of a victorious soldier, because He exposed Himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Romans 8:31-39 NKJV

If God is for us, who can be against us? HE WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP FOR US ALL, HOW SHALL HE NOT WITH HIM ALSO FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, NOR ANY OTHER CREATED THING, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.

John 13:34 NIV

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

1 John 3:16 NIV

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Exhortation: Love Fearlessly

God’s Greatest Commandments Are To Love God and Others

God’s two greatest commandments are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We must make these mandates our mission. 1 John 4:16, 19 NKJV says, “GOD IS LOVE, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him…WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.” It is impossible to love God first in our natural flesh, but when we encounter His love, we can love Him. OUR ABILITY TO LOVE IS ROOTED IN GOD’S LOVE FOR US, AND WE CAN ONLY TRULY LOVE OTHERS WHEN WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE DEPTH OF GOD’S LOVE FOR US.

We experience His love by abiding in His love. How do we abide in His love? It is through a living, perpetual, genuine and intimate love relationship with Jesus. It is not just a relationship we confess, but a relationship we live out through abiding in Him. As we abide, we become one with Him as He speaks to us and reveals Himself. Our eyes see, our minds apprehend, and our hearts are suffused with a revelation of Him; then, we know Him and His fearless love for us. As we know how much He loves us, He gives us the grace, power, and passion to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This intimacy with Him converts, transforms, and empowers us. We can love Him to the utmost.

He is not only our Savior, Redeemer, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Healer, and Provider—He is everything to us. He becomes the center of our life, the focus of our strength, and the priority of our pursuit. There will never be another like Him in our hearts, and we will never have enough of Him. We will hunger for Him profoundly and be overwhelmed with the knowledge of our need for Him. There is a passion for Him that cannot be put out, a pursuit that cannot be stopped, and a surrender that is complete. Indeed, none can compare to Him nor replace Him in our hearts. We live for Him first, not for anyone or anything else. There is no comparison, replacement, or equal. He is our first affection, attention, and consideration. He takes the first place of love, honor, and worship in our hearts. JESUS CHRIST IS OUR FIRST PASSION, PRIORITY, AND PURSUIT, AND HIS MANDATE IS OUR MISSION.

The Audacious and Fearless Love of God

LOVE IS HUMANITY’S GREATEST NEED, AND THEREFORE, IT SHOULD BE OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY. Only one love can meet all needs—God’s love. Lew Wallace, the author of Ben Hur: A Tale of Christ in 1880, wrote, “Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but LOVE STAYS WITH US. LOVE IS GOD.” His love is eternally absolute, matchless and faithfully constant. It is all-encompassing, transcending time and space, and unlimited by any condition, circumstance, or power. God’s love never fails. It always endures and is invariably available regardless of our weaknesses or failures. Although we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly; we are broken, but He loves us completely; we are faithless, but He loves us faithfully; and we are fearful, but He loves us fearlessly. IT IS A LOVE THAT TRANSFORMS US FROM THE INSIDE OUT, BRINGING JOY AND MEANING TO OUR LIVES. GOD IS LOVE. As God is all-powerful, so is His love, which is mighty to save, deliver, heal, and overcome. Apostle Paul declared in Romans 8:35-39 NKJV.

WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, NOR ANY OTHER CREATED THING, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.

We cannot and do not earn His love, because His love is inherent to His nature. Oswald Chambers, the author of My Utmost for His Highest, said, “The love of God is not created—it is His nature.” Jesus Christ already loved us while we were yet sinners. Romans 5:8 NLT says, “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Christian author Jerry Bridges wrote,

God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love and flows to us through our union with His beloved Son.

God loves us audaciously by wrapping weak, broken, and sinful humanity in the sacrificial and saving love of His flawless and holy Son, Jesus Christ, whom He prepared before the foundation of the world to be sacrificed as the Lamb slain, providing redemption for the whole world. This was God’s greatest act of love, demonstrating to the entire world the depth and width of His boundless love for us. This is Christ’s example for us, showing how we should love others. Indeed, our ability to love is rooted in God’s love.

What is it to Love Fearlessly as God Loves?

God loves us fearlessly so that we can love Him and others fearlessly. Rick Warren says, “GOD’S LOVE FREES YOU TO LOVE FEARLESSLY.” There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Jesus, the Son of Man, fearlessly loved His Father and humanity. In love, He gave Himself to His Father to obey and do all His Father desired. What love was this that would cause the Sovereign God to abase Himself in humility and subject Himself to untold suffering, shame, and abuse at the hands of His created beings to save them?

JESUS IS NOT ONLY LOVE; HE IS FEARLESS LOVE. He is the perfect love that is supernatural, and triumphant over all; He is the agape (unconditional and absolutely selfless) love of God in Person. Christ’s love is so inconceivably audacious that it is beyond human understanding. It is a love so centered on God that one is not afraid to pay any price to obey Him in love. This reckless and brazen love of Jesus Christ held nothing back, not even His life, to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world to redeem us. He is Divine and Enduring Love. He is also Perfect Love. Isaiah 53:1-12 speaks of how He suffered on our behalf because of love:

• He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deep grief.
• He was oppressed and weighed down by carrying our weaknesses and sorrows.
• He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins, and whipped to make us whole. He was oppressed, treated harshly and led to the slaughter, yet He remained silent.
• The Lord laid all of man’s sins upon Him. He bore all our iniquities and sorrows.
• He was sinless but accused, crucified and buried like a criminal on our behalf.

This is the fearless love of God. It is a love unafraid to love in any situation, undaunted by any demand, unlimited by the flesh, unshackled by fear, and undeterred by any cost to love. We, who are born-again through Christ’s blood sacrifice into His family, are also called to love God and people fearlessly, just as Jesus loves.

Audacious Love—His Mandate My Mission

To love audaciously is to love fearlessly with A FREEDOM TO LOVE SELFLESSLY, without limits or conditions. Love is not just a feeling but a choice to treat others the way God treats us: patiently, kindly and selflessly. Fear is the enemy’s device to prevent us from trusting and obeying God. With faith-filled confidence in God, we are to love Him and others fearlessly. The exhortation not to fear occurs many times in the Bible.

The first negative emotion experienced by mankind (Adam and Eve) because of sin was fear. Fear was a product of disobeying God due to listening to and trusting the lies of satan. The door for fear to intrude was wide open, and Adam and Eve were introduced to fear. Everyone born after that came into this world exposed to fear. Fear caused Adam and Eve to hide from God rather than run to God. Instead of trusting God, they feared Him. From knowing and living in God’s perfect love, they began to flee, fearing God’s judgment. God was no longer a friend they walked with but one from whom they ran. To love audaciously, we have to deal with the problem of fear. WHERE FEAR EXISTS, THERE IS NO TRUST, CONFIDENCE, RELATIONSHIP, OR UNITY. Fear will effectively shut down obedience to the first and second greatest commandments to love God and love others. May we trust in God, who is Perfect Love. He is for us, not against us. Before satan can do one thing to us, Jesus Christ has already done everything for us when He laid down His life on the cross to enable us to live, triumph, be blessed, and love fearlessly.

To love fearlessly is to love from the heart, in a way that is neither self-serving nor self-preserving, but unconditional, without prejudice or judgment, always seeking to serve and bless. It is also to share the good news of God’s love with others so they too can experience the joy and peace that comes from knowing and experiencing God’s love and salvation firsthand.

How to Practically Love Fearlessly

Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “You shall LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

• Loving God with All Your Heart—Unconditional Surrender

Oswald Chambers wrote, “THIS IS THE FIRST LOVE THAT WE MUST LIVE IN—UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.” To love God with all of our heart is to love Him completely, withholding nothing from Him. It is a love that is evidenced by a willing and unconditional surrender to Jesus Christ. WE ARE NOT OUR OWN, WE ARE HIS. We live to love Him, and we love to live for Him.

• Love God with All Your Soul—Complete Obedience

John 14:23 NKJV–“IF ANYONE LOVES ME, HE WILL KEEP MY WORD; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

To love God with all of our soul is to love with complete obedience. Jesus says that if we love Him, we will obey Him and keep His word. To obey, we must wholly lay down our will and take on His will. TRUE LOVE HAS A DESIRE TO OBEY AND A PASSION TO PLEASE THE ONE WE LOVE. OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS THE OUTFLOW OF FIRST LOVE FOR GOD. Love is not without a cost, and neither is obedience. It cost Jesus everything to love and obey His Father. We must follow Christ’s footsteps to love God with all our souls in complete obedience.

• Love God with All Your Strength—Physical Energy and Abilities

To love God with all our strength includes loving and serving Him with all our physical energy and abilities. It is God who gives us both physical and spiritual life. Without Him, we do not exist. Every breath we take is because He is willing. There is nothing we can boast of in ourselves—strength, wisdom, achievements, or possessions. In loving God with all our strength, we consecrate all our energy, abilities, and talents to serve Him and others. Loving God is practical. Jesus loved His Father with all His strength by using His physical energy and abilities to serve Him and others. He began His life as a carpenter, He washed His disciples’ feet, fed the hungry crowds, and provided for His disciples. He agonized in prayer until sweat mingled with blood poured from His body. Are we also using all our strength to love God and others? Whatever we do not consecrate to God, including our strength, for His purpose, will eventually be given over to serve other things.

• Love is Patient and Kind

God’s love is patient and kind; this is how we should love others. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is the greatest. He explains that we can have all the gifts and abilities to do great things, but if we do not love others, we are empty and no better than noisy gongs or clanging cymbals, having no true impact or significance in the kingdom of God. We must love not with the world’s love but with the love of God, which is patient and kind. Our love must demonstrate the nature of God and the fruit of the Spirit. We are God’s extended hand of grace and love to others. IN LOVING THEM, WE ARE LOVING GOD. Matthew 25:40 NLT says concerning this, “The King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these, My brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’”

How have we loved and treated others? Do we favor some and despise others? Is our love tainted by the world’s standards, expectations, and values? The love of this fallen world is selfish and impure. It is defiled by ego, self, and wrong motives. God’s love is pure, patient, and selfless. We love because God first loves us; therefore, we love the deserving and the undeserving. We love them with patience and kindness. In being patient, we keep no records of wrongs done to us. We are patient with them in moments of weakness or when they fail or even hurt us. Patience means never giving up or losing faith. It is always hopeful and enduring through every circumstance. Love is to be magnanimous in doing good for them and blessing them not because they have earned it, but because we love them. As God is patient and kind to us, we must be patient and kind to one another, especially in the house of God.

• Love Is Humble and Not Self-seeking

True love is not proud or self-serving. God’s love is humble and selfless, as demonstrated by Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself by putting aside all His privileges as God to take on the form of man and servant to die to save us. Christ’s love is humble and always seeks the good of others. To love with His love, we must also be willing to humbly and selflessly seek the good of others—eager and ready to go hungry so that someone else may be fed. We put their welfare and needs before our own. Such love does not pay back evil for evil but good for evil. It blesses those who curse us and loves those who hate us. It will turn the other cheek when struck on one and give even the tunic when the cloak is demanded. It thinks of others before we think of ourselves. We will selflessly encourage, build up, and elevate others. We do not require our own ways, and we do not rejoice about injustice but rejoice whenever the truth wins.

• Love is Hating (not delighting in) Evil.

1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV says, “LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH.”

Amos 5:14-15 NLT states, “Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. HATE EVIL AND LOVE WHAT IS GOOD; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of His people.”

God loves all sinners, but He hates what is evil. It took the sacrifice of His only Son to destroy evil so that humanity no longer needs to live under its control. His love rescues and redeems from evil, but it never compromises nor tolerates it. He will forgive the repentant in His loving grace and mercy, but He will still judge all that is evil. We are to hate evil in any form, whether in what we see, hear, think, or engage. BE HOLY AS GOD IS HOLY.

In loving God and others, we must hate evil and not tolerate or revel in it. If we love God fearlessly, we must hate evil and delight in what pleases God’s heart. We will take joy only in what is good, pure, holy, and righteous.

• Love Always Trusts, Hopes, and Perseveres

1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV says, “It [love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

The journey of faith and love is challenging, never smooth or without trials. As we learn to love God and others audaciously, we will face many struggles, disappointments, and pain. We must be convinced that obeying God’s mandate to love and making it our mission is worth it all. To know the joy of having continued in love by enduring in trust, hope, and perseverance is incomparable. Love does not give up on relationships but perseveres through difficulties and hardships because of faith in God that He is trustworthy. Just as God never gives up on us, we must not give up on others but always trust, hope and persevere as we love fearlessly.