“Love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.”
1 John 4:17
[We continue in the last days of this month to set our thoughts on heaven along with previous Anchor authors whose lives drew to a close during or after their writing.]
Often, we think we can get along without depending on God much because we are handling life well on our own. As trust in our own strength grows, the distance between us and Christ grows. But for all our confidence, we still wonder what will happen in our final moments. Fear about that moment of judgment when we stand before the Lord begins to take root. What will it be like? What will we say?
John tells us plainly in his first letter that “there is no fear in love” (v. 18). God’s love in us is a living, active force, cleansing and transforming us in our inner being. That love was perfected on the cross when He died for us so that when we die at the end of our earthly days, we will stand joyfully welcomed into His arms.
He’s working in us now to make us more like Him, using all our circumstances—the ones we feel confident about and the ones which break us down— to draw us near.
Often, we think we can get along without depending on God much because we are handling life well on our own. As trust in our own strength grows, the distance between us and Christ grows. But for all our confidence, we still wonder what will happen in our final moments. Fear about that moment of judgment when we stand before the Lord begins to take root. What will it be like? What will we say?
John tells us plainly in his first letter that “there is no fear in love” (v. 18). God’s love in us is a living, active force, cleansing and transforming us in our inner being. That love was perfected on the cross when He died for us so that when we die at the end of our earthly days, we will stand joyfully welcomed into His arms.
He’s working in us now to make us more like Him, using all our circumstances—the ones we feel confident about and the ones which break us down— to draw us near.
Scripture Focus
1 John 4:13-21
Insight
Joyce Gibson, Anchor’s first editor, wrote this for the second Anchor, the April 1976 issue. She was welcomed into her Savior’s arms at age 94 in 2023.
Bible In A Year
- Judges 20-21
- Psalm 119:1-88
- 1 Corinthians 12