Advent begins on November 30th this year. If you're looking for a companion for yourself, your small group, your Sunday School class, your church, your staff, or your friends, here are two options.
“Why are you so afraid?” (Mark 4:40) What a great question, not only for the disciples but for each of us. Fear has such a profound impact on all of our lives, whether we realize it or not. Jesus knew that, and he just wanted us to know it too.
Fear is at the root of so many of our issues, problems, and dysfunctions. And it’s even at the root of some things that the culture around us would call good things. But are they? Really? Especially if their origin is fear.
For example, fear is obviously behind our anxiety, insecurity, and doubt, but it is also at the root of our drivenness, competitiveness, and workaholism. Fear is surely the main source of our judgmentalness and criticalness, but it is also at the core of our inability, or our unwillingness, to stop and rest.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out all fear,” says the apostle John. Thus, fear is actually the enemy of love. And if we are called to love, which we obviously are, fear will keep us from being able to do that.
So, I guess we all must answer the question, “Why are you so afraid?” with as much honesty and transparency and vulnerability and reflection and courage as we possibly can. Because it is only when we recognize fear as the source of our behavior that we can ever have any real hope of transforming that fear into love.
Lord Jesus, help us not to live in the house of fear but to live in the house of love. For only then can we love like you love.
