When you were young and said a bad word, your parents may have threatened to wash your mouth out with soap. Well, if fear is a dirty word, then faith in God’s unconditional love for you is like soap! Too many put the cart before the horse. We believe that God accepts us based on the degree of our love for Him rather than on the degree of His love for us. The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us” (v. 19 NKJV). God’s love for you is not based upon your performance but Christ’s performance on your behalf. When you put your trust in Christ, God sees you “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17) from that moment forward. Do you want to know how God sees you at this moment and every other moment? “As He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17 NKJV). Does that mean you can disobey God and get away with it? Not a chance! “For whom the Lord loves He chastens…Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:6, 11 NKJV). But God’s correction is not rejection! It’s proof of His unconditional, unlimited, unwavering, undeserved, and unearned love for you. God doesn’t love you more on those days when you’re victorious and less on those days when you’re defeated. His love for you doesn’t vary or vacillate. Knowing that truth will boost your faith and take your fear down a notch!