The most common phrase that God shares with humans in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid.” Do you see how intimately God knows us? God knows that from the moment that we are born we experience fear. We are afraid of the dark. We are afraid of being abandoned. We are afraid of being rejected by family or friends. We are afraid of living, and we are afraid of dying. Into that reality God speaks a word of calm, of peace, of assurance. Be not afraid.
Now it should be noted that fear has its place. Fear can keep us alive. Fear can keep us out of trouble. Fear is not always a bad thing. But when fear keeps us from living and loving as God intended, then it is the adversary of abundant life.
The promise that we have from God is that we are never alone. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” Well, we know that we will all one-day die, but none of us really look forward to it. That final step into uncertainty is one that we try to avoid. We fear death even though our faith and our God tell us that there is no reason to be afraid.
The news from Orlando this weekend was shocking, disturbing, and heartbreaking. Innocent people were victims of hate and terrorism. Our thoughts and prayers are lifted to heaven in support of our sisters and brothers in Orlando.
The truth is, the world always has been, and always will be, a violent and dangerous place. From the Romans to the Vikings, from the killing fields of Cambodia to the ethnic cleansing of the African continent, from South America to the near extermination of the American Indians, the world always has been violent and dangerous.
In the United States we live in freedom and we live in a time when we are safer than ever before. It might not seem that way when watching the evening news, but it is true. Murders in the United States have dropped by 12 percent since 2004.
Now if you want to talk about risky behavior then let’s talk about driving. Yesterday, 3287 people worldwide died in motor vehicle accidents. In the United States 90 people die every day of the year on our nation’s roads. Are we afraid to drive? Some of us should be. But for the most part we are not. In fact, you are twice as safe on our roads now than you were in the 1970’s.
What is my point? We need to not be so afraid of dying that we quit living. We need to not be so afraid of being hurt that we quit loving. We need to not be so afraid of our neighbors that we quit being a good neighbor to them. We need to continue to travel, to see the world, to open doors and hearts. If we allow fear to rule our lives then the terrorists have accomplished their goal. If we allow fear to paralyze us, then we are to be pitied.
Fear is a tool of the devil. So let us remember the words of the one who gave us life and knows us intimately: “Do not be afraid.”
Don’t let the bad guys win! Live and love as Jesus did.
Loving you,
Pastor Jim
