The One Who Fears

Today in our study on idols, the lesson concentrated on fear. And here is the interesting concept we are pondering - is fear an idol or the cement that bonds us to an idol. I had never really explored fear as a bonding agent before.

In our country today, fear is the basis of many of our life choices, daily habits, media focus...I mean it is EVERYWHERE!!! We have to eat right for fear of cancer or obesity or heart disease. We have to lock our doors and don't speak to strangers because we can't trust anyone. We take an extra 2 hours at the airport for fear that the airplane will be used as a terrorist statement. We worry and fear for our children's education because we fear they will not be able to become gainfully employed. We fear becoming bankrupt or not being able to support ourselves in our retirement. We fear other countries, we fear people who are different from us, we fear, fear, fear....in fact we fear SO MUCH that it has become an accepted state of mind. Fear has become the new normal. HOW DID WE GET THIS WAY!!!

Now to think that fear is a bonding agent, holding us tightly to our idols - that means that the idols are so numerous that we don't even recognize how much we have pushed God out of the way...

As we were asked today to review several scriptures that deal with fear. They were small slices of passages - from both the Old and New Testaments, and one thing that struck me was throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were instructed to Fear God...but then in the New Testament, this all changed. Jesus often said - Fear Not, Do Not Be Afraid, etc. etc....so why did this change? Well, one thought I have is that if fear is a bonding agent - then it was most appropriate for God to tell the Israelites to fear HIM, the one and only God. The fear is what bound them to Him instead of other gods...but then the GOOD NEWS comes to us through Jesus - and through Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, God resides in us - so he is bound to us outside of fear. The need for the bonding agent has been replaced by the infusion. We are born again and need fear no more.....I love that (but oh if I could just live that!)

My favorite scripture, of the ones we studied on fear was 1 John 4:18 but to get the full effect, it is important to go back and read starting at verse 15:

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God is in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement; in this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I LOVE this scripture - it is the Gospel in a nutshell...and it perfectly complements another of my favorite scriptures from John - John 15:10-11:

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my fathers commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

So to put this all in terms I can relate to (in my very limited brain) - it's like that old kid's game rocks/paper/scissors...seriously.

Love is paper
Our Heart is the rock
Scissors are fear

Love wraps around the heart - but can be "cut" by fear
The Heart can beat Fear