Day 12: Don't be afraid...

How has Love 40 days been for you so far?  Has it been easy to put yourself out there every day, risking people thinking you are a bit weird, or a complete Bible-basher?  Sometimes people don't respond to loving actions the way we think they will, or we don't get anything back when we thought we might.

Often it seems easier to love from a distance and not risk it.  To choose to pray for someone, or text them, rather than actually speak to them or do something face to face where you could feel uncomfortable.  In this social media age doing relationship via computer seems far less risky...

However, this is not "following the example of Christ" from Ephesians 5:2.  Jesus got right in the mess of real relationship and loved in every situation.  And while it is great to pray for every single name you pull out, it is also great to get out there and see what happens when you take a leap of faith and share yourself, not fearing what the other person might think...

1 John 4:18 tells us that: perfect love expels all fear.

God loves you with perfect love.  His love in you will drive your fears of how others perceive you far, far away.  If this is something with which you struggle (and if we are being honest, we all struggle with it to some degree) you could spend time offering your fears to God today, maybe read the whole of 1 John 4 to be encouraged, maybe share a symbolic action as a family where you write or draw your fears on papers that you then throw away in the bin as you thank God for hus perfect love.

And then get out there and do those good things that we read about yesterday!