What if I went away on a trip and told my kids, “Daddy will be back soon … or maybe he won’t. Maybe I’m not really your daddy at all. Maybe my real family lives somewhere else. You’ll just have to wait and see if I come back. I might return from this trip with a gift for you or I might not ever return. Sit around and think about that while I’m gone, and let that compel you to become better children.”

Bad would not begin to adequately describe that kind of parenting. And if it’s bad parenting, why would we think that’s God’s nature?

Coercing us into good behavior by holding back assurance does not communicate love; it cultivates fear. The only way love grows is through security. I don’t need to tell you that. You know that already. You completely trust those you truly love with everything.

The Bible makes God’s intentions for you very clear:

• “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
• “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
• Jesus said: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).
• “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

I could go on, but do you get the point? He’s saying, “I love you. I won’t leave you. I’m coming back for you.” Once we have assurance, we then have peace, not fear, for: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18)

Love produces a whole new kind and level of obedience.

A completely new creation has new appetites and desires. You begin to seek God because you love God; you behave righteously because you crave righteousness. God is not just after our obedience; He’s after a whole new kind of obedience that grows from desire, not fear.

You can express repentance and faith in a prayer, but the prayer itself does not save you; your repentance and belief lead to salvation. It is possible to repent and believe without praying, just as it’s also possible to pray without repenting and believing.

So if you’ve never done it before, have a seat. Put your feet up. Trust. Rest in your recliner because Jesus sits on the throne of your life.

J.D. Greear will Randy Robison and Tammy Trent Tuesday on LIFE Today. Excerpted from12 Truths & A Lie by J.D. Greear (K-LOVE Books, an imprint of EMF Publishing, 2023). Used with permission.