Charity, or The Pure Love of Christ vs. Fear

We are told that perfect love casteth out all fear. (1 John 4:18).  There are two forces at work in our lives. The first, love. Love comes from our Father in Heaven. He loved us, and in His love for us, He sent His son to attone for our sins, that His purposes in us might be fulfilled, which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The greatest exemplar of this pure love, on this earth has been our Savior Jesus Christ, who not only wanted to do the will of His father, because He loved Him, but because He loved us. As natural men on this earth, we feel often times entitled to be loved, or in other words many of our actions are in hopes of having it returned to us. We can never hope to repay our Savior or our Father in Heaven for all that we have, which they knew and understood, yet they have and continue to give without expecting anything in return. The greatest example of this to me, was reading the intercessory prayer. John 17. I recommend everyone read this to feel Christ's love for all of us, but the verse that has always stuck out to me has been verse 26. He says: And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Christ wants us, sinners, beggars, weakness filled mortals, natural men and women, full of carnal desires and passions, idol worshippers, liars, deceivers, and all manner of other sins,  to feel the love that He, the only begotten of the father, He who hath no sin, received from His father. He wants us all to be joint heirs with Him. We have done nothing to deserve to receive all this and will never be able to do enough, yet this is what He wants for us. It is beautiful!

Now the second force at work in our lives is fear. Satan is the author of fear. He is a liar and will tell us anything that keeps us from feeling the love that Heavenly Father has for us. He will tell us things that bring fear into our lives. Fear creates: pride, anger, jealousies, anxiety, depression, impatience, greed, chaos and confusion. These things keep us from feeling loved and from loving others. This is what has created the wars in the world. This is also what stops us from being in the presence of our Savior Jesus Christ.

We have got to start looking at the motives for what we do, within our hearts. When I watch my children to keep them from getting hurt, is it out of fear? Do I stop my children from progressing and moving forward, because I am afraid of the choices they will make? Can I allow others, whom I love to make mistakes, even when I feel they may be wrong? Can I trust in the Lord's love for me, as well as my friends and family, to do His work with them? I am not advocating that we not watch our children to know what they are doing or where they are at. I am not advocating that we don't share our feelings with our friends and families, but we can only do so much, before we move into control, manipulation, compulsion, and anger with those we love. When someone says, if you would only listen to me, you would be much happier, it is false. They are moving in fear and manipulation. When a man says stay with the brethren and you won't be led astray, you can guarantee that you already are. Any man or woman who says to just do what they say, without question, should be mistrusted with their intentions.

There is only one we can trust, only one who can lead us perfectly. That is Christ.

I am starting to see how fear is moving me every day. Recognizing, beyond my own normal panic and anxiety how fear plays a role in my life. Tonight, I bought a drink at the store. I had my kids with me, so I shared with them. I took two sips and passed it around. I had six kids with me so, I started getting nervous that I wouldn't have anymore, since usually my kids end up finishing anything before I get any. I asked them to pass it to me. I started guzzling it down. I told my husband that if I didn't drink it right then and there that I wouldn't get any, and he said, "so you're moving in fear?" I was so shocked that something so insignificant could create even the smallest amount of fear and therefore, in guzzling the drink I didn't get to enjoy it. So I asked my husband, " Okay, so we are aware that I moved in fear, so how do I change that thinking?" He said, "Gratitude, be thankful for what you do have." So basically, be grateful that I had the opportunity to have at least two sips and that my children were able to share with me, and that they would have been able to learn to share with each other and learn to be thankful for what they had. This breeds love. Love for each other, love for our Father in Heaven, and love for our Savior Jesus Christ. I have realized in just my experience tonight, just how fear affects and permeates itself into everything we think and do. It is definitely worth taking a double look into the choices we make. Without charity, we are nothing. We can attain all the promises of heaven, but without love for God, ourselves, or our neighbors, we are nothing, they mean nothing.

Love or fear, these are our choices. What will we choose. We are coming into a time where fear will come upon every man, if it is not already. Will we choose to have courage, faith and trust in the Lord to provide, protect, and bring peace to our hearts, or will we go out and try to take it by force? I choose courage and faith. Let's learn this while things are easy, so that when things are hard, it will be easier to achieve. I am so grateful that God gave me these insights to share. I have come to see just how deep my unbelief goes. I pray that I can cast it off, that I may regain His presence. Much love to all. Thank you for allowing me to share.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Moroni 7