Misplaced fear
by Carolyn Ehrlich
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And 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 (Matthew 10:28).
Read Matthew 10:24–33
I struggle to understand what it means to fear God, who loves me so much that even the hairs on my head are numbered (verse 30). I also struggle to hold in my heart the instruction to not fear those who could kill my body. I have so much emotion and feeling tied up in my flesh. I don’t like pain. I don’t want to think about the fact that someone could and would kill me – or my body, anyway. I cannot imagine, and I choose not to imagine, the sheer terror I would feel if someone were threatening my life on earth. But Jesus says do not fear them.
Instead, we are to fear God, who can destroy both soul and body. Fear the God who has the authority to throw you into hell (Luke 12:5), for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). And then I think about what it would be like to have my soul destroyed – the inner part of me that makes me, me. The ‘something else’ that I don’t fully understand or appreciate, the ‘me’ that others see even less. Thinking about that makes me truly fearful. Nothing. Gone. Destroyed. Completely removed from God. Obliterated.
Our God is a fearsome God. He cannot be in the presence of sin. It is important to recognise this and, thus, to fear him. But in this passage, Jesus points us to the equally important reality that our God is love. Because God is love, created us in his image, chose us and sees us as valuable, we can be assured that we are safe in Jesus.
Yes, we are to fear God. Equally, Jesus came to redeem us, because we are God’s people. And because of that, I am safe. I have life. I have a king, and my king is a battle-hardened warrior. And he loves me. Yes, he can destroy both my soul and body in hell. And, yes, he loves me. So much that he numbers the hairs on my head. He knows exactly how many hairs clog my shower drain (something I can’t be bothered to know). So much that nothing – neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in creation – will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38,39). Repeat after me: I belong to Jesus.
God, you are all powerful and Almighty. You are fearsome. And you are love. Thank you for loving me and that nothing will be able to separate me from your love that is in Jesus Christ. Hold me safe today, Lord Jesus. Help me to know deep in my heart just how much you love me and how secure I am in you. Amen.
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