No Fear in Love

An Ash Wednesday Reflection

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:18-19

Lent begins with ashes — a mark of our mortality, a sign of both our frailty and our need for grace. On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. But even as we bow in repentance, Scripture offers us a powerful truth: fear and love cannot dwell together. Perfect love drives out fear.

This is the paradox at the heart of Lent — we come as sinners in need of mercy, yet also as beloved children already held in God’s perfect love. Often, Lent can stir quiet fears within us: Have I wandered too far? Are my sins too great? Can God still love me after everything? But the gospel silences those fears with one beautiful truth: We love because God first loved us. God’s love comes first — before our repentance, before our fasting, before we take a single step.

Henri Nouwen reminds us, “We are not what we do. We are not what we have. We are not what people say about us. We are beloved daughters and sons of God.” The ashes are not symbols of condemnation, but signs that even fragile dust is deeply cherished by the Creator.

Perfect love casts out fear — fear of punishment, fear of rejection, fear that we are not enough. Lent is not a season to appease a distant judge, but an invitation to return to the arms of a Father who calls us home. These days are a walk with Christ — through prayer, fasting, and surrender — from the wilderness to the cross, all the way to the empty tomb.

May we begin this season hearing God’s voice: “You are my beloved child.” Let love, not fear, guide our steps as we follow Jesus — trusting that the One who leads us into this wilderness will also lead us safely through it.

Prayer

Loving God,

As Lent begins, cast out fear from our hearts.

May these ashes remind us of Your mercy, not just our mortality.

Hold us in Your perfect love, today and always.

Amen.