“Have no fear of them,” Jesus says, as he tells his followers of the enemies they may encounter on God’s mission. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
God knows the number of hairs on our head and values us even more than precious sparrows. That does not mean God promises us physical protection (read Psalm 79 sometime). It means simply that we are of infinite value to God, whose love for us is not diminished by our physical death. Oh, that helps, right?
People who have had near-death experiences frequently say they no longer fear death. And it is the fear of death that so often holds us back from fully living the life we’re given. It is a hard balance to strike as followers of the One who promised eternal life: to live fully in this life, loving its gifts and pursuing God’s mission in the world, the world for which Christ died, while holding this life lightly, knowing it is not our final destination.
Jesus is not minimizing the trauma of physical death, I don't think. He is inviting his followers to weigh that against the greater trauma of spiritual death, of apathy or even allegiance to the enemy who seeks to degrade and destroy the creatures of God. If fear of death, or fear of losing income or time or reputation, keep us from giving our hearts to God, we place ourselves in spiritual peril.
Following Jesus does not mean nothing else matters. It means we make the shift to putting him first, above every other thing and person who claims our love. It’s not either-or; it’s both-and. In the order of priority. God comes first.
And when God comes first, it lowers the stakes for everything else. We can be more confident taking risks when we value our God-Life more than our physical life. Not caring so much about our physical existence – while still investing in it (I did say it was a balancing act) – sets us free to discover who we most fully are, how exquisitely and uniquely we are made. Rather than seeing Jesus’ words as warning, might we take them as invitation to greater freedom?
What holds you back from making God your number one priority, if God is not? What fears impede your proclaiming to those you know your allegiance to God in Christ?
If we can name our fears, we can invite the Holy Spirit to transform them into freedom. “Perfect love casts out fear,” is a promise we are given in scripture. I’ve learned you can kill poison ivy by pouring boiling water on it; it withers and dies. Imagine doing that with your fear when it rises.
And then invite God to sow love – imagine God planting a seed of love in that spot. We can sit with the sparrows and watch our fear wither like a weed and the love grow strong and beautiful, knowing that God is keeping an eye on us... and counting our hairs (easier with some than with others...)
No comments:
Post a Comment