Fear No Fear

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17, MEV). Jesus loves us enough not to condemn us. He didn’t come to do that. He came to provide the Way for us to be saved. He CONVICTS our hearts of our wrongdoing so that we RECOGNIZE the proper behaviour required to accept and walk with Him. Conviction happens on the inside of us. It’s the knowledge we’ve done something wrong. We’ve missed it. Taken a bad step in the wrong direction. It is the knowledge we use to grow, learn about God’s point of view, turn around, and seek forgiveness (the process of repentance). It is something that always points us toward Jesus and His saving Grace and Mercy. Not to get away from bad, ungodly behaviour, but to remove it from our mental landscape. To lean into Jesus’ love for us so that we can love Him back more effectively. So that we can obey Him more thoroughly. So that we don’t miss it in that area ever again. It is an attitude of redemption, renewal, and restoration. Condemnation is external. It’s an attack against us that leaves us feeling unredeemable and guilty. There is no room for repentance in condemnation. It is not a godly tool of judgment, but a deadly attack of the devil to isolate us from God. To make us feel we aren’t worthy, aren’t worth it, and deserve what we get. It is NOT what Jesus came to do. Conviction is the godly path leading to abundant life. Condemnation is the guilt-ridden steamroller that drops us into the grave (John 10:10). Jesus doesn’t ‘let us off the hook’ for sin or transgression. We don’t have a get out of jail free card. Jesus loves us enough to tell us the truth about our behaviour, our thinking, and our words. Jesus loves us enough to help transform us. To enable us. To equip us. And to help us become what God always wanted us to be. To achieve what He says we can achieve. To transform into who He sees when He looks at us. Jesus’ love is transformative, righteous, and redemptive. That’s how much He loves us. That’s why He came. That’s why He is knocking on our hearts every single day pointing us to the Way we need to go in every circumstance and situation.