Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

by Doug Rehberg


Recently I was out to dinner with a man who’s made a career out of raising money for the cause of Christ. He has one simple dictum by which he approaches people of means. He says, “You can’t take your money with you, it’s too heavy.”

Now lest you think he’s only talking to those who possess great estates, he’s not. He says, “Our money’s too heavy at every point of our lives, and at any net worth. It’s always weighing us down. As fallen, fleshly creatures, we live in constant fear of not having enough. In fact, it’s that fear that is the single greatest impediment to our growing faith.”

That’s the story of Zacchaeus. That’s the story Jesus tells of the man who finds hidden treasure buried in the field and goes and sells all he has to buy that field. That’s why Jesus spends so much of His time on the power of possessions in our lives. He knows that while He created us to be generous, out of fear we are naturally stingy.

In 1927 George Washington Truett was asked to preach in a small church. Now Truett had come to Dallas, at age 30, to pastor the First Baptist Church of Dallas. He pastored that church for 47 years. During this time he discovered the unassailable link between generosity and spiritual growth. So this little church in West Texas invited Truett to come and preach and help them raise money to build their first new building. The price tag was $6,500.

While a lot of Presbyterians wish to remain anonymous about their giving, these Baptists were fond of shouting out their commitments. At the end of Truett’s message on slaying fear by giving freely to Jesus, a man stands up and says, “I’ll give $200.” Immediately a woman stands up and shouts, “I’ll give $250.” After about 30 minutes they’ve raised $3,500, and no one else stands, so Truett begins his benediction.

Suddenly a woman interrupts shouting, “Dr. Truett, I just need a minute to talk to my husband.” Now her husband was a deacon who was sitting in the front row of the sanctuary, and she was in the back. So she shouts, “Hey Charles, I was just thinking, remember that man at the bank yesterday who said that if we ever wanted to get rid of our cottage he’d buy it for $3,500 -  twice its value? I think we ought to sell it and give Jesus the money, what do you think?”

He stands up, faces his wife, and with tears he says, “You know, I was just thinking the same thing. Let’s sell our cottage for Jesus!” Instantly, the flood gayes open. A man across the sanctuary stands up and says, “I’ll sell my boat.” Another stands and says, “I’ll sell my car.” And while all of this is happening a woman near the back, gets up, walks forward, and receives Christ.

Truett writes, “When it was over, there were dozens of new names written down in glory while the church got twice as much money as they needed. There was a thousand times more joy than I’ve ever seen in one place.”
That man is right. When God creates us and redeems us, it is so we might become generous, like Him. And of all the things that stand in the way of it, fear is the strongest foe. That’s why John says, “Perfect love casts out fear.”