God’s Love Gives Us Confidence

Read 1 John 4:13-21.

When your self-esteem is founded upon the overwhelming and unqualified love and grace of God, you will have peace and assurance regardless of your circumstances, even in trials. That’s what happens when you place your hope in the unshakable, unstoppable, unchangeable, unconditional, unqualified love of God. That’s what I call authentic self-esteem. It’s the only lasting self-esteem because it’s not based on yourself at all. Self-worth will be hollow, superficial, and temporary when it’s not anchored in the one who loves us perfectly.

John shows us the power of Christ’s love at work in us in his first epistle. Jesus’ perfect love impacts our lives in two powerful ways. Today, we’ll look at the first: Jesus’ love gives us tremendous confidence. John tells us, “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” (1 John 4:17). John’s phrase “This is how” is the key. How is love made complete? We are like Jesus. You might be intimidated by such an assertion—”Like Jesus? Perfect? I’m far from it!” Well, of course I know that, and that’s my testimony, too. Here’s the wondrous news: Because of His perfect love for us, His perfection, His righteousness, His holiness, His completeness, has become ours.

Through Christ, you inherited the whole estate. When God looks at you, He sees you through Christ and His perfection. He sees you as a son or daughter, a co-heir with Christ (see Romans 8:17). That means we have a completely different response to the Day of Judgment than the person who doesn’t know Jesus. The usual responses to the Day of Judgment are either to deny it or to fear it. But because we know victory through Christ, because death no longer stings, we can echo John and say with joyful anticipation, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Prayer: Father, thank You for the power of Your love in my life to give me blessed assurance. I can face the Truth with confidence because I know I belong to You. May I live with quiet confidence before You so that many might see Your peace in me and long to know its source—the Lord of all creation and lover of my soul. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.