Love Rather Than Fear

Not long ago there was a knock on my door.

I opened it and was quite surprised to find a group of children standing there.

Two of them I recognized as they live next door.

The others I did not know at all.

One thing that also caught my attention was the little girl who stood furthest away.

Unlike the other children, her expression was one of concern.

One of the children I knew well explained that they were playing and got their ball stuck in a tree.

I suppose one of the two who knew me thought. “Hey, we know somebody tall!”

So, the children escorted me to the tree in which the ball was stuck.

As we walked I noticed that the one little girl still looked concerned and kept well away.

When we arrived at the tree I spotted the ball.

As I reached for it, I asked one of the children if anything was wrong with the little girl.

I was informed that she was the one who threw the ball and got it stuck in the tree.

I was also told, “She’s afraid you are mad at her.”

My heart melted.

The moment my hand grabbed the ball the children began clamoring for it.

“Here you go, sweetheart,” I said as I tossed it to the frightened child who stood far away.

She caught it and her fear suddenly disappeared.

My reward was a beautiful smile.

Our relationship with God can be like that.

Whether we want to admit it or not, sometimes we fear God.

We think of Him as distant and unapproachable.

We convince ourselves that we should keep our distance from Him.

We might even convince ourselves that God will be very angry with us if we draw too near.

We think that He might be unforgiving.

How wrong we are.

If we only trust in God’s kindness, we should be willing to approach God and admit our misdeeds both to ourselves and Him.

Romans 2:4 (NET) - Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

We must count on God’s love for us.

That means others should be able to count on our love as well.

Even the smallest among us.

1 John 4:7-8 (NET) - Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 6, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, July 13, 2018