Love is a great boost to self-confidence. In one of his best-known statements, John writes,
‘There is no fear in love’ (1 John 4:18).
This means that we have confidence before God. We can approach him boldly and without shame, because we know that his love has covered our sins through the death of Christ on the cross and that our love for him has brought us near to him.
But it also means that we have confidence towards others. The reason is simple. When we love others we are more concerned about them and their needs than we are about our own.
You may have grumbling, difficult, hard-to-get-on-with neighbours. Your natural instinct may be to avoid them altogether.
But if you reach out to them in love, you may begin to understand why they are like they are. And your love will overcome your fear of conflict.
An old black gospel song says —
You may talk about me as much as you please,
I’ll talk about you down on my knees.
When we pray for those who use us wrongly, love for them begins to grow and then we have confidence to approach them and extend grace to them.
To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.