Skip to main content

The Many Faces of Fear


Samuel Wells writes,
"Fear isn't itself good or bad.  It's an emotion that identifies what we love.  The quickest way to discover what or whom someone loves is to find out that they are afraid of.  We fear because we don't want to lose what we love.  We fear because we don't want to lose what we love.  We fear intensely when we love intensely or when we think what or whom we love is in real danger.  So a world without fear wouldn't be a good thing, because it wouldn't just be a world without danger - it would be without love." ~Be not Afraid: Facing Fear with Faith, xv


Fear can be a crippling emotion that drives us to despair but it can also lead us to revere the things or persons we should rightly honor.  Fear is neither inherently good or evil in itself but points to the overarching foundation of our hearts.  Mary and Joseph are told in the Gospels to not fear because there is great news for them.  Isaiah reminds exiled Israel to not fear because God has redeemed them and that though they walk through the water and the fire, God is with them.  Yet, we find fear used in a positive sense in the first proverb.  Proverbs 1.7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.."  How do we understand fear and the myriad ways it is used in the Bible?

1. Context - How is fear used in the specific passage we are looking it?  Is it in a story about God's reminding his people of his presence?  Or, does the biblical writer use it in a negative light concerning fear and call the people to trust the Lord amidst perilous circumstances.  Also, when the Bible speaks to the characters in the text not to fear, who is telling the people not to fear (an angel, the Lord, Jesus, etc.).

2. Consequential Action - What kind of action follows the admonition to not fear or the use of fear in a specific passage.  How does Jesus or God use fear in the Scripture to bear witness to their redemptive care for their people?  The action that follows out of the context surrounding fear in a biblical passage is foundational for how we are to act.

3.  Pastoral Sensitivity - Everyone fears someone or something.  Let's not quick to make fear into a sin that can't be shaken.  Freedom from crippling or paralyzing fear takes root when we identify the Christian life as a series of both habitual moral actions in both attitude and action alongside a healthy sense of weakness.  Weakness is key to the Christian life because by laying forth our fears, failures, hopes, and hurts, we come to the foot of the cross, finding life through death.  In doing this, we realize that our fellow brothers and sisters have walked down the road of fear, walk in fear, and will walk in fear too.  The goal isn't to have a stiff upper lip and to go through life with a stoic attitude, but to live honestly knowing that forgiveness is not something that just happened 2,000 years ago but takes place today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Journible The 17:18 Series: Acts

Journible The 17:18 Series: Acts The 17:18 Series: The Book of Acts by Joel R. Beeke and Rob Wynalda In Deuteronomy 17:18 Moses foretells of a future king coming to reign over Israel and copying the law himself rather than just acquiring a copy of the law.  The role of writing down or scripting the Word of God is of paramount importance for the growth of the believer.  With this truth in mind, Joel Beeke and Rob Wynalda have created Journibles.  This Journible on the Book of Acts is both a resource to copy the Scriptures yourself and engage in some questions about the text. On the right hand side of the Journible is blank lines with verse indicators for you to copy down the whole Book of Acts.  On the left side of the Journible are questions regarding context, theology, and details of the text for you to answer.  In other words, this Journible on Acts incorporates a place for you to write your own copy of Acts while engaging with the details of the te...
1 comment
Read more

God's Grace for All of Life

The Romance of Grace by Jim McNeely III To be honest, when I received this book in the mail I had visions of what it might be like with a title like, ‘The Romance of Grace.’  The emotional rollercoaster and one-sided perspective on how our emotions fuel our faith was my presumption about the book, but this was the furthest thing from the truth as I started reading.  The Romance of Grace by Pastor Jim McNeely III is a careful look at the movements of grace in the way God pursues us with his love and his desire to get us to love him back.  McNeely writes, “We are entering a cosmic romance with a passionate lover, and He is interested in our heart’s truest desire.  His deepest objective isn’t to make us more moral; it is to get us to love Him back.  Virtue is the fruit, not the root” (18).  Why is this helpful?  For one thing, beginning with God’s initiating grace frees us from starting out on the wrong foot in the way we tell the story and...
2 comments
Read more

Rainbows for Rainy Days

http://store.kregel.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=3008 Rainbows for Rainy Days: 40 devotional readings that reveal God’s promises by Catherine Campbell Holding onto the promises of God amidst a broken world full of pain and suffering is not an easy task.  Yet, these devotional readings, entitled Rainbows for Rainy Days, written by Catherine Campbell are a treasure house full of wisdom for the weary traveler on the journey through the Christian life.  Taking a Scripture, providing a short meditation alongside a beautiful photograph, these devotional readings bring to life the ways in which God pursues his people from beginning to end.  I found myself throughout the book saying out loud, “Yes, that is true, Amen to that!”  I would like to point out some reasons why this devotional is so valuable for those following Christ. 1    1.            Details of the Story Catherine takes great pains to draw us into ...
1 comment
Read more