Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

It's amazing what happens when getting to know someone versus just seeing them from afar and judging them.

For the last couple of months, we have "put up with" our upstairs neighbors: a 21-year-old couple who (almost) constantly has played loud music, fought horribly, and banged things around incessently.

When they first moved in, either John or I made the comment that we should have them over for dinner.

Then the fighting began, the noises got louder, and our frustrations built. Instead of that dinner offer, we began letting the cops make visits instead.

I mean, the fighting WAS horrible and the noises WERE way too loud for being midnight (and later). We really did have every right to call the police- as did our other neighbors, which happened frequently.

Then last Thursday, things came to a head. I mean, really, it was almost as if all hell broke loose upstairs. I was in the middle of a conference call and could barely concentrate for all the noise- screaming and banging around- the police came and to make a long story short, the guy ended up completely breaking down.

We learned a bit about his family life that day, and a little about hers as well.

Things started making more sense- abuse and broken families mixed with extreme financial crisis will lead to lots of fighting and hurt. How does a young, unbelieving couple know how to love if they've never been shown love?

The door opened for our dinner invitation at just the right moment- when they were broken and at the end of themselves.

So tonight was that dinner. All day I was feeling a bit nervous- out of my comfort zone. I mean, I have prayed for years that my home would be a home that could take in the needy. I have always known that a passion and spiritual gift of mine is hospitality. Yet, when faced with an actual experience, I felt jittery- scared, even. And why? To what end? Our God is bigger than any fear I have, but yet I still let those fears creep in.

And were the fears legitimate? Hardly. Dinner tonight was so fulfilling. Not physically, but spiritually and emotionally. This is a hurting, lost couple. Just looking for someone to show them truth and to show them what it means to love. And although John and I are far from perfecting that truth and love, we have something they are longing for: an anchor to hold us together. Jesus Christ. Tonight lead to a few moments of sharing our faith for sure, but more than anything it was the beginning of something being built. A beginning of perhaps a mentor ship. Of times spent talking, playing games, and hopefully even digging deeper into spiritual matters.

Our God is so awesome. I praise Him for tonight- for His strength and timing. For softening my heart to a situation that could have otherwise caused more hardening and callousing. And for using His love to cast out a fear that was not given to me from Him.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18