Love is truly greater
When LOVE>FEAR first began, we knew the initiative was powerful and would speak to people. As Aaron McCarter said in the kick-off sermon series at Maryville Vineyard, LOVE>FEAR is a tremendous social statement, but it’s an even more powerful statement when understood as part of the Gospel. God continually shows that not only is ordinary love greater than fear, but in 1 John 4:18 we are told that “perfect love casts out fear.”
To the extent that we will accept the perfect love that God has freely given us, we have the ability to shake loose all fear and trepidation. All of it. And so, with this solid foundation, the LOVE>FEAR movement was set in motion.
We had good reason to believe that there were numerous stories out there of people who were and are demonstrating LOVE>FEAR with their daily lives. We wanted to tell their (your) stories and inspire others to live fearlessly. Scripture is filled with LOVE>FEAR, the history of the church is filled with LOVE>FEAR, and nearly everyone who has accepted the call to faith has experienced moments in which love was found to prevail and fear was rendered utterly powerless.
Indeed, I have known family members who have allowed love to cast out their fear. My father, a former alcohol and hardcore drug addict, is the first of many great examples I have of someone who chose to accept perfect love and has continuously allowed it to cast out all fear.
But we had no idea just how much power could be found in the simple statement: LOVE>FEAR.
What exactly is love greater than?
LOVE>fears caused by broken families
So we began our journey of LOVE>FEAR with a feature story on Rick and Nikki Denton. I had the privilege of interviewing Rick to find out their special story of LOVE>FEAR. Rick and Nikki chose to be foster parents and eventually adopted three children. Without the perfect love that God has given them, they would never be able to endure the fears and sacrifices that come with being foster/adoptive parents.
What was most extraordinary about the Dentons’ LOVE>FEAR story was not only that the Dentons take in these children, but they also assist the mothers of these children. Incredible healing has taken place as a result.
Rick and Nikki Denton have shown that perfect love casts out fear of sacrifice, fear of rejection, fear of loneliness, and fear of family division.
LOVE>fear of following God’s call to the ends of the earth
Next up, we were privileged to meet with Maryville Vineyard’s first missionaries, Josh and Amanda Armstrong. The Armstrongs followed God’s call to Haiti with a two-year-old girl and a baby on the way. Many people thought they were crazy, but they never had second thoughts. God called them, so they went.
The Armstrongs have had a tremendous impact on Haiti in their first year already. What shook me to the core about the Armstrongs’ story was that without any hesitation, they both looked me in the eye and said that fear doesn’t even enter the equation when they think about Haiti. Over and over again I asked them to express what it meant to face their fears, and repeatedly they laughed and confidently said, “If we’re where God wants us to be, we don’t have anything to be afraid of.”
The Armstrongs have shown that perfect love casts out all fear. They have grasped God’s love and have never had any desire to look back.
LOVE>fear of future
Our next feature story was a guest post from Ray Hollenbach. Ray wrote about how in light of the Gospel and our certainty of the future, we no longer must live in fear of an uncertain world. We have been set free from worries about the future, and thus we have been set free from all fears that exist in this life.
When you know the end result, you are free to make radical, unpredictable, and fearless moves to follow God’s call.Even death is merely the doorway to life to the fullest, and we can live passionately in the here and now, sacrificing for others no matter the cost.
Ray showed us how perfect love casts out fear of the future.
LOVE>fear of domestic violence
Domestic violence holds many people captive to crippling fear. Amber had been the victim of intense domestic violence, and she had barely found the strength to escape. She wanted to tell her story of LOVE>FEAR so that others would realize that they could escape before it’s too late.
She has continuously found that choosing to pursue the true and perfect love that is found in Christ has brought safety, assurance, and healing in a way she could never have previously imagined.
Amber has shown us that perfect love casts out fear of entrapment, abuse, and domestic violence.
LOVE>fear of pushing your body to the brink and risking the loss of a loved one
Our next story came to us through a former member of Maryville Vineyard, Danielle Wendell. Her husband Daren, endurance athlete and founder of ActiveWater, had received his latest vision of how to use his talents for God’s will: he was going to run across America in 45 days. No sooner had he received this call then he began experiencing heart issues.
Danielle imagined the worst and wanted to ask Daren to not run across the country; but she came across lovegreater.org, and realized that she and Daren needed to have LOVE>FEAR. And so they pushed onwards in faith, finding out that Daren would be fine to train for his next physical feat.
Danielle shared their experience, showing that perfect love casts out fear of losing a loved one and fear of pushing oneself physically for God’s calling.
LOVE>fear of depression, suicide, and getting hands dirty
After the Wendells’ story, we arrived at the scene of an attempted suicide. From the eyes of Aaron McCarter, we saw how one woman’s radical, sacrificial, yet simple love was enough to turn a tragic situation into the beginning of a healing process. Through the simple act of reaching out and being a true friend, “Catherine” and “Jim” were brought from the brink of death into the embrace of God’s healing love.
“Mary” showed us that a true friendship founded on perfect love casts out fear of suicide, rejection, depression, and loneliness.
LOVE>fear of death
The next feature story I found to be the most touching of all. Shortly after Myla June Kimsey was born, doctors discovered she had developed an infection in her lungs. She died in surgery, just one day old. What is remarkable about Myla’s story is the way that her parents responded. Her father Drew ultimately found perfect love to be greater than the pain of the loss.
In those moments it is what you choose to remember that matters—that love is, indeed, greater than fear. Drew says, “I have to re-remember it all the time. Satan will try to remind you of what you lost. When I think about Jesus going to the cross to conquer death for my daughter, I realize how good God is, and it makes me want to be the crazy guy in the worship service. I just can’t help but worship a God who would do that.”
The Kimseys showed us that perfect love casts out fear of death, even the death of a beautiful, infant daughter.
LOVE>fear of prison camps, torture, brushes with death, and fear of losing wife to another man
Our resident historian and chaplain Lt. Col. Stan Giles wrote our next story about World War II Chaplain Robert Taylor who endured the tragedies of the Bataan Death March and the torture of the prison camps of World War II, never abandoning his faith and his love for others.
After surviving the camp, though, Robert returned home to find his wife, who had been told Robert had died, had married another man. Now he had to face a new, excruciating form of torture. Yet Robert stood strong in his faith, preaching God’s love and forgiveness until his death.
Robert Taylor showed us that perfect love casts out fear of torture, fear of death, and fear of losing love. Only through radical, unimaginable perfect love could these fears ever be conquered.
LOVE>fear of losing savings, fear of failure, and fear of homelessness
The next story showed how we can use our passions to make a radical difference in the world. Mike and Donna Williams were given a passion from God for homeless people. They also had a passion for Christian music. Mike was given the vision of planning events that could raise money for local ministries, specifically those addressing homelessness. Mike and Donna proceeded to step out with all their savings to put on an event and found that God blessed their faith more than they could ever imagine.
To date Mike has put on huge events, featuring major Christian speakers and musicians, that have raised great amounts of money for non-profit ministries. What’s crazy about Mike and Donna’s story is that for the first couple years, they risked all or nothing with their finances, as they donated all proceeds to non-profits. Had any event tanked, the Williams would have been broke.
But Mike and Donna showed us that perfect love casts out fear of losing financial security, fear of failure, and fear of homelessness.
LOVE>fear of serving others in 3rd world country, fear of dying on side of the road
Our next story was another example of a person willing to follow God’s call to the ends of the earth, in order to serve the least fortunate among us. Mandy Adkins, driven by an extravagant love, followed God’s call to Africa, where she realized her dreams of helping the alienated and oppressed peoples of the world. She devoted her entire career towards social justice and showing love to others.
One day, Mandy’s call almost led to her death in the ditch of an African road, surrounded by men who would have liked nothing more than to steal from her group. Mandy found in that moment, however, that perfect love does indeed cast out all fear.
Mandy Adkins showed us that perfect love casts out fear of following God’s call to the ends of the earth, no matter the sacrifice or risk.
LOVE>fear of being stabbed in the arm and having life fluid drained into a bag
The next story was also LOVE>FEAR’s first practical-action event. We coordinated with MEDIC to host a blood drive, enabling people to live out, in some small way, love that is greater than fear. For some, this was a huge opportunity, as needles and donating blood was absolutely terrifying. For others, it provided an excellent way to show that they cared for the lives of others, even at the cost of some discomfort.
Our turnout was fantastic, and many people showed that perfect love casts out fear of pain and discomfort, in order to help save the lives of others.
LOVE>fear of alcoholism
This story hit home to many people I’m sure. “Alan” was a man who had been considered successful by most people’s standards. He had his life together, was doing the right things, and even went to church. Yet Alan had a dark side that he had never let love shed light on. Alan was an alcoholic, and he was very ashamed of that fact. After one terrible night, he decided he could no longer live that way, and he began to let perfect love heal his life.
Alan showed that not even the great holds and fears of addiction were strong enough to keep perfect love at bay.
LOVE>fear of failure, fear of pushing physical limits for others
Finally, our most recent story brings us to Roy Row, a pastor who has decided to face his physical fears to show his love for others. Despite physical obstacles and all kinds of fears, Roy decided he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail—all 2,100+ miles of it.
Why would he put himself through something that grueling? Because God had called him to do it in the name of awareness and love for disabled people. Every step that Roy takes in his journey will be towards the goal of reaching out and showing love to the disabled community.
Roy is showing us that perfect love casts out fear of failure and fear of pushing oneself physically past where we think we can go. He is showing us that love for others is enough to conquer the fear of any physical sacrifice or pain.
LOVE>___________
So what has perfect love been shown to be greater than in your life? There is no fear, no sacrifice, no pain, and no brokenness that perfect love cannot overcome. It casts out fear of alcoholism, addiction, failure, physical pain, sacrifice, financial insecurity, loss of comfort, getting your hands dirty, future, and fear of death.
1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Perfect love shows us that only love will remain, and it tells us that in love, fear has no place. So will you accept perfect love? Will you let it transform your fears and weaknesses into strengths?
These are stories of very ordinary people who simply accepted extraordinary love, and they’re leaving the world changed in their wake. Will you do the same? The time for LOVE>FEAR is now.
