“Fear Not, for behold I bring you Good News of Great Joy.” 

“I didn’t wander in the woods, Used to fear the darkness.  I didn’t like getting deep, I was scared of what I couldn’t keep.  But when You give me love, I have no fear of heights.”  Katie Melua

What do you fear?  Our first response might be “nothing”.  But that’s not true. We all fear.  It’s woven into the fabric of our very being.  From the time light breaks upon our newly-birthed bodies we are afraid.  It’s a gift that we can’t remember the birth process, because it certainly is a terrifying experience!

What do you fear?  Ponder that for a moment.  The past year of Covid has brought many fears to the surface of our society and world.  Not just fear of a virus that we can’t see and don’t know much about, but the fears of economic insecurity and experiencing shortages of basic living necessities. Think back to the beginning of Covid and the rush on paper products.  What was driving that behavior?  Fear.

What do you fear?  It’s not difficult to come up with a pretty long list quite quickly.  But let me ask you, is love on your list?  I have come to believe that one of the driving fears for many, if not most people, is the fear of love.  Specifically, God’s love.  It sounds a bit strange, but hear me out.

God’s love is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced!  It is a love that is not based upon appearances or performance, worth or whether or not we deserve it.  It is a pure love that asks nothing from us other than to be open to receiving it.  It is a forgiving and merciful love.  It is a love that is not based upon our ability to measure up to expectations. It is a love that takes into account neither our failures nor our success.  It is a love that pursues us and provides us with the kind of embrace that each of us longs for.  It is a love so different, so unusual, so unlike anything we have experienced that we don’t know what to make of it.  And so, like a person dropped into another country and culture where all of the customs are unfamiliar, we fear.

I believe this is one of the reasons that Jesus was rejected and crucified.  The people simply didn’t know what to do with His love.  Here was a man who didn’t reject others, who didn’t ascribe to a political party or follow any set program.  He sought out those who were most in need of love.  We are told that He loved His followers to the end.  And He even loved His tormenters and torturers.  “Father, forgive them . . . “ He said from the cross.  It is a sacredly sacrificial love that knows no limits; for you, for me, for anyone and everyone.

And that’s kind of scary, isn’t it?  We don’t know what to do with it.  But here’s an idea:  believe and embrace it.  For ourselves.  Believe in this kind of love.

The words at the beginning of this blog are from the song “No Fear of Heights” by Katie Melua.  I love it.  It’s worth a listen.  To me it represents the freedom that God’s love gives us.  Freedom from many things, not the least of which is fear.  With some smidgen of faith we no longer need fear anything, especially God’s love for us.