Scripture: “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7.
What are you afraid of, and why are you afraid?
At
this time of year, people throughout the ages have felt spooked when
the summer’s time of plenty gives way for the coldness and death of
greenery that come in late autumn. Ancient Celts believed that the line
between the worlds of the dead and living became blurred during this
season. After Christianity took hold, people in those regions still held
on to superstitions. They fought their fears with costumes, lanterns,
and community events.
But
God tells us that we don’t need superstition. He has conquered all evil
– even death – and we, as His children, have nothing to fear!
Do Christians Fear?
Through the Bible, God warns us to beware of evil: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) We
have to be on the lookout for all kinds of evil. We don’t want to be
taken by surprise; we want to “watch and pray”. However, we know that we
don’t have to fear, because God also tells us in Isaiah 41:10,
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and help you.” We can rely on our loving
Father to protect us when evil and danger appear! If someone or
something is attacking us, we know we’re “in the right”, and can easily
remember to pray against that kind of evil. But what about the evil
within – when we give in to the temptation to sin? We Christians are
still human, and through that humanity, we have inherited a sinful
nature. And there’s nothing we ourselves can do to keep from having to
pay the penalty for sin – death: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) As
sinners, we must rely on God’s grace for forgiveness and salvation. We
can depend ONLY on our Lord to save us. Jesus took all our sin onto
Himself and paid the price – death and separation from the Father!
We Don’t Have to Be Afraid!
But
we know that the grave COULD NOT hold our Lord! Because Jesus is part
of God, the power of God worked a miracle so strong, that Christ
triumphed over death, emerging from His tomb after the three days.
Do
you love your life so passionately that you’d hang on to it, no matter
what? As Christians, we are instructed to follow Christ’s example: to be
willing to let go of, or even sacrifice, our earthly lives, because we
know that the eternal life that comes after is even better.
The Apostle Paul gave us an example of a good attitude about this: “I
want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him
from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that
one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”
(Philippians 3:10-11)
Paul’s
words reinforce for us that we have nothing to fear – nothing bad on
earth, even death, can compare with God’s glory in eternal life. The
life of Jesus calls us to be His passionate followers, loving and
trusting Him, clinging to Him more than our earthly lives.
Instead, We Can Believe
We
trust Jesus to take the guilt of our sin away by the sacrifice of His
death. Therefore, we can trust His promise to fulfill God’s purpose
after our earthly deaths. Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the
Life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone
who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die.” John 11:25-26
What a miracle; what a promise!
One
of the first steps of becoming a Christian is to believe that Jesus is
part (the Son) of God, and that the miracles of His life, death, and
resurrection can teach us to live righteous lives, guarantee the
forgiveness of our sins, and promise us the life everlasting at His
side, in Heaven. He told us that when we believe in Him and strive to
live our lives righteously, as He did, He will conquer death in us.
Jesus
gave us the ultimate examples of faith; prayer; loving; cooperating, or
working together, with friends; and more. His was a sinless existence.
And although we still might sin sometimes because of our humanity, we
can try to live lives like Jesus’s, following God’s will even to death,
without needing to fear it.
An Eternal Life
God
has given us a marvelous gift. We can live our lives in freedom from
the bondage of sin! Although we were born into sin and death as our
human inheritance, God has adopted us as His children, and we have a new
inheritance.
St. Paul wrote that, “Just
as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from
the dead has begun through another Man.” (1 Corinthians 15:21).
Jesus takes us from the legacy of death into the legacy of rebirth and life everlasting.
Because of all this, we MUST live in a way that is pleasing to God. We want to please our Father. Since He has given us so much, we must eagerly give our lives back to Him. We have a new inheritance, a rebirth; we no longer live in sin and face death. Let our earthly lives reflect our heavenly lives!
St. Paul summed it up: “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
Because of all this, we MUST live in a way that is pleasing to God. We want to please our Father. Since He has given us so much, we must eagerly give our lives back to Him. We have a new inheritance, a rebirth; we no longer live in sin and face death. Let our earthly lives reflect our heavenly lives!
St. Paul summed it up: “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
