1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is so are we in this world.
The love that is God is in us and is being perfected, until the time when we die and are resurrected. For now, we can rest assured that when our love is made perfect we shall have boldness in the day of judgment. We know what the verdict will be: free, acquitted, and entry accepted into heaven. We are so confident of that verdict now that we are bold to stand in the presence of God. We are not fearful of judgment but eagerly looking forward to it.
The promise is that we will be as he is. While we wait for the final perfection in love, we are ”in this world” becoming more Christlike. This is a promise that the Lord is doing something in us. He is restoring the Image of God, which we lost in the Fall. We were created to reflect the image of God, His Love, back to God and to the created world. The Lord is in the process of restoring us to full perfection in love; and He will finish the job. It looks like Christ; it looks like giving, sacrificial, unconditional love.
The original temptation offered to us in the Garden was that we would be “like God.” That was tempting for we wanted the absolute power to control things and people for our own good. We did not want to be ”like God” in pure love for the good of others, for that would require self-sacrifice, service, and laying down our life, dying to self. Like Christ. So the Lord set in motion His Salvation Plan to redeem and restore us to His original design and purpose. He sent His Son to carry out His will, and then sent the Holy Spirit to perfect us in love.
The Good News is the promise that we shall be perfected in love and that we shall be as He is. We don’t see it happening, but we can believe His Promise. It will happen!