4:56 p.m. - Friday, Jan. 02, 2004
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I recently went to a movie, and when I came out of the theatre, there was a small group of people preaching the standard "be afraid of hell" message.
As I walked by, I started to think about how much time we spend living in fear.
We are afraid of anyone that may have a political or social agenda. "Watch out for the gays! They're taking over!" And we miss out on loving our neighbour.
We are afraid of pop culture. "Don't watch that! There's a nipple in that movie!!!" And we miss out on seeing the gospel hidden inside our culture's stories.
We are afraid of people with differing religious views. As evangelicals, we're often even afraid of our Catholic brothers and sisters. "They worship Mary and have to work for their salvation! Stay away from them!" And we miss out on an incredible opportunity for fellowship.
Even our evangelism is based in fear. And not just in the sense of trying to "scare" people into the kingdom, but in the sense that WE are afraid that someone will go to hell. What a terrible place to start when you're "sharing the gospel"! In fact, if you are starting from a place of fear, you are probably not sharing "the gospel" at all.
The gospel is perfect love. We all know what perfect love does.
It casts out the fear of my neighbour. It throws away my fear of the culture I live in. It invites me to sit at the dinner table with people who are different than me. And this perfect love tosses out my fear of sinning, of making a mistake. It sets me in the wide open spaces of the grace of God and lets me run -- fearlessly.
