We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear.1 John 4:16-18

When I was a young child, my mother took me on a trip by plane. In those days airplanes weren't anything like they are today. We flew through a snowstorm, the wings froze up, and we made a somewhat difficult landing. We did walk away, but I was afraid of flying from that day forward. From the time I was five until I started consulting with churches twelve years ago, I boarded a plane only once.

When I first began consulting, I had to take a tranquilizer in order to get on an airplane, something I was not proud about. After a year or two of this nonsense I decided I had to do something, so I took flying ...