1 John 4:7-21
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
I have read where some people believe that fear is the opposite of love...St. John seems to imply that fear is the opposite of love when he writes, "There is no fear in love...But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment...The one who fears is not made perfect in love."...But St. John does not write that fear is the opposite of love...St. John is telling us that perfect love can drive out our fears...
An argument for saying that fear is the opposite of love is starting and saying there are only two basic emotions that we have...And some believe that the only two emotions we have are fear and love...And then we get derivative emotions from these basic two emotions...From love we get kindness, goodness, gentleness, happiness, joy, and many other good things...From the second emotion, the other emotion of fear, we get anger, rudeness, prejudice, jealousy, pride, criticism, being judgmental, evil, and many bad things...So when one believes we have only two basic emotions we can see how fear might be the opposite of love...
Others say there are more than two basic emotions and by believing that there are four or six then it is harder to pinpoint an opposite emotion...
Some say that hate is the opposite of love, while others say that love has no opposite...So those who believe that fear is not the opposite of love believe that fear, which comes from the brain part, called the amygdala which instinctively gives us fear, so that we can run or take flight when we see something that is fearful is assisting us...The amygdala and our fear is protecting us from danger, so they can argue that fear is not the opposite of love but is actually helping us and protecting us...
Another argument that I might have is that if love can drive out all of our fears, isn't this very much like saying that the Light can drive out the darkness, and good can overcome evil...Wouldn't we be more likely to love if we were entirely free of our fears...Love is the positive emotion and fear is a strong negative emotion...Another thing is that I have had anxiety for over forty plus years...Sometimes anxiety makes me irrational with all the negative thoughts racing around in my head...One thing that helps me is my spouse holding me and talking to me about the current situation and what is on and in my mind...Anxiety and the mood disorders are fear based and fear driven...I see and I know that her holding me and listening to me helps and makes me feel better...Her love helps drive away some of the fear in the anxiety and I then I feel better again...And if I think of love and fear in these terms them I can see that love's opposite could be fear...