Fear

“Jesus began to say to his disciples, ‘Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell...’” (Luke 12:1-4).

The Temptation of Christ by the Devil (George MacDonald)

There is so much in the Gospels – and in the Bible in its entirety – that asks us not to be afraid.

Some of my favourite hymns use these words and are designed to give comfort.

And I can understand why we are called not to be afraid.  After all, there is so much that can cause us to fear.  Literally anything could happen.  I could lose all my money and my home and end up on the streets.  I could be plagued by drugs and alcohol and addiction.  I could be tormented by temptation for one of the seven deadly sins.  I could drop dead in an instant – just fall over in the middle of my sentence and never wake up in this lifetime again.

Anything could happen to me and to my family.  If I had no faith, I would not be able to hold with all this fear.  I would not be able to take one single breath in the morning without being overcome…

And so, it makes sense to say that we should trust in God and be not afraid…

And yet, there is a time when Christ warns us to be afraid…

“Jesus began to say to his disciples, ‘Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.’” (Luke 12:1-7).

And I have been thinking about this today.  You see, the one things Christ calls us to fear is hell.

He calls us to fear temptation to hell.  He is not worried about our body being harms – illness, torment and suffering of the flesh are not the things that God calls us to fear…

The Evil One is an angel – a fallen angel, but an angel, nonetheless.  And this means that we must understand the risk to our spiritual souls.  It is no even battle.  The spiritual battle that we undergo is not metaphorical – it is the single greatest threat to our salvation.  This means that it is the single biggest threat to our eternal life.  If we lose in such a battle, then we have no hope of life after death – we could be eternally damned and our soul will die.

And this means that I have no choice – by faith – to trust in God to defend me.  If I were to rely on my own ability, then I would have nothing to rely on and I should fear.  But if I place my trust in my INFINITE FATHER who has the power to protect me, then I am safe.

And today I can see what an irony it is to try to save myself by relying on myself, when the only way to be saved to is rely on the One who actually has the POWER to banish evil…

Understanding that today, I really understand that I have nothing to fear!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.