Love Making Sense: No Fear In Love

(Editor's Note: Don't forget this is an ongoing series in preparation for this book I'm writing Love Making Sense. You can look back a few posts to play catch up on this dialogue.)

One day a co-worker brought his six-month-old daughter to the office for about 30 minutes. He sat Tess on his desk, and the barrage immediately began. She had a set of piercing deep blue eyes, and continually stared at everyone who came near her with curiosity. Within minutes, half of the office was in Tess' face at once.

I began thinking to myself, she's certainly not scared of us because she keeps staring and everyone kept talking about how beautiful her eyes were.

Now, she won't be able to do that in about six years - the "don't talk to strangers" age, and understandably so - because her parents and society will teach her that gazing/staring is not proper etiquette. But while she's an unknowing baby, and there are no consequences, she gets away with it. In turn, she shutdown the paper's southside , no not Chicago still KC, office for a half hour.

Now, I'm not giving you the advice to start staring at people in public without pause to see if you'll get their attention for 30 minutes. You will, just likely not in a way that you want.

But this is meant to understand this idea of "No Fear In Love." Tess had no fear of the people before her (most babies only fear being away from their parents). So with her father there, she thrived in that situation.

Have you ever had a moment where you could feel someone's presence on you in public, kind of like they were looking at you and trying to get your attention? It's happened to me, rarely in a negative way, and I know I do it to people as well.

Did you end up politely speaking to someone you never thought you'd talk to or end up an engaging conversation that you didn't think possible? That's a frequent occurrence for people who drive out fear and encompass the true meaning of love, giving in every situation, as often as possible.

I remember standing in line for a plane about a year ago coming back from Miami, and having a conversation with a man that last three hours throughout our flight back to Kansas City. We talked about his ex-wife, his children, his new relationship, this book I'm writing, God and where He belonged in our hearts and so much more. It all began because I wasn't scared to approach him and he wasn't afraid to start a conversation with someone new. And yes, we were two people alone in an airport. That tends to drive the fear out considering the security in airports these days.

That has happened several times or so it seems.

That's how we make friends, by driving out fear and believing (trusting) in other people. That's when we perfect this thing we call love. These ideas are rooted throughout the Bible (in the Gospels and in 1 John 4:18, which literally says "perfect love casts out fear").

I'll get to the biblical aspect of how the Gospels and 1 John 4:18 correlate. It's a powerful concept, and one we all should grasp in life. If I did it now, though, it would make this entry about twice as long as it is now.

For now, though, just think about how unafraid you were of things/people in life when you were age six because you didn't know any better. You lived a care-free life. Now, think about your fears today, and how much of that is predicated off of what you know and have learned in your years of life plus the first six.

Doesn't that just make you wish Adam wouldn't have desired to be omniscient, and didn't take bite of the forbidden fruit? We'd all be walking around not knowing what it meant to be naked, obese, skinny, ugly, vertically challenged, etc.

Yeah, thanks Adam. Thanks.