Fear not

As I sit down and think about where I am at in my walk of faith, and what ramifications that has on me and those around me, my mind often wanders to the body of Christianity as a whole. While it would be a mistake for me to ever assume that I have ascertained the one and only true way of viewing Christianity, I think it is a natural inclination for a person of any religious belief (or even a follower of a mere philosophical idea), to often feel that those around them have somehow “got it all wrong”. This is a problem I struggle with pertaining to many aspects of my life. Although, I think it is always important to share and debate ones beliefs in an open forum. I believe this allows others to find both the faults, and weaknesses in their opinions. It is when we decide that our opinions are infallible, and our arguments indestructible, that we go from being decent human beings concerned for the well-being of our fellow men, to nothing more than intolerant children. I hope that the essays and ideas I post here never offend anyone, for that is never my intention. If anyone ever has an issue with something I write about, you can always feel free to email me using the link to the left. Write what you please, because I would be more offended by someone who felt they could not honestly debate with me, than I would with someone throwing virtual insults my way.

Now, with that out of the way, I shall move to the topic of tonight’s post

As Americans, we spend a fair amount of time bearing witness to terrible things. And, if like most Americans, you watch the evening news, than at least an hour of your night is devoted to this act. Robbery, rape, vandalism, an abandoned baby, murder/suicide, bombing, disease, epidemic; these words cause us grief, but for the anchormen and their colleagues, in their sharp ties and finely pressed suits, they mean ratings. We live in a society where we are enthralled by bad news. We remember all the details from the television news, so that we can talk all about them the next day at work. “Did you hear about that woman who got killed?” you hear someone inquire. “Can you believe it?” they ask. Television news, tabloids, newspapers, talk radio; all these things are designed for one thing: to entertain us. Yet, look under all of it, and there is always a recurring theme.

Fear. It is this fear that brings us back to the dulling rays of our living room boxes. This fear keeps us in our homes, watching ads for alcohol and botox when we should be enjoying time with our families. This fear brings us to giant conglomerate stores where we purchase useless items that we will never need. We justify this frivolous spending with the notion that we will somehow become safer. The honest answer, however, is this: We are as safe as we will ever be, right here and right now.

"Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."- 1st Peter 3:14

I think it is safe to say that the thing we most often fear, the thing that drives us to make so many wrong decisions, is death. We are raised from very early on in life to fear death. This isn’t necessarily bad, because as creatures of this world, we have an inclination to want to stay alive. Yet, there is a large difference between loving the life that God has blessed us with, and fearing our inevitable death. We must look at our deaths not only as the end of our time here, but also as the beginning of our lives in places unseen, places unreachable by our bodies and minds. The destination of our souls is so magnificent, so unfathomable, that we can only hope to describe it with the word eternal. That is the great journey; when we make the leap from lands of green and brown, ascend past the great looming sky, and enter into our eternity. Why then do we fear? Why do we live our whole lives with the notion that we must fear the day they end?

Imagine Earth, or I shall call it Mother Earth for this analogy, imagine it is a womb. We spend 9 months (give or take) suspended in the warm nourishment of our mothers’ wombs. Just as these months of unconsciousness pale in comparison to our first memories, to those days when shapes and sounds were first discovered in their untainted beauty, so are the days on our planet when compared to the eternity we shall spend released from it. Yet, this incubation time is incredibly crucial. We are here, just as in the womb, so that we may have this time to develop ourselves. We must form the limbs, organs, and flesh of our faith. This, however, will always take time.We must be ready to accept when He decides that we are full enough to be in His presence. There is no set amount of time for this, no 9 months. This period of growth will end only by the hands of Him. To rebel against this, to take matters into our own hands, such as with suicide, is a mistake with permanent effects. How dangerous it is for a baby to be born after only a few months. How much more disastrous it is for us to be born into eternity unprepared.

It is with great success that Satan has tricked us into living our lives by way of our fear, and not our love. Death has moved from being a quintessential part of life, to something we should and can avoid. We must allow ourselves to be rid of this plague, this nagging fear. Until then, keep your hearts always towards the day when we will remove our eyes from the cold hard ground, and direct them towards the artistry and eternity of the heavens above.