One of the parts of our mission statement at University is to "dare to follow Christ without fear." I truly believe that this one phrase complicates matters tremendously because we don't know what life is like without fear.
I remember being taught about "stranger danger" or not crossing the street without an adult or not taking candy from people I didn't know, etc. From a very young age I learned to fear the unknown because the unknown was somehow unsafe, dangerous, or "deadly".
How has this thinking crept into our churches? We worship a God who knows us fully - more than we are often comfortable with - and yet do we really know the people sitting/serving around us?
We set up "hedges of protection" around our children, youth, and elderly so they don't get hurt. We set up "hoops" for new people to jump through so they can be part of us. But do we ever really let our guard down and live like we are not afraid?
What would it take to live that way?
What would it take to do ministry that way?
How can we move from fear to trust - and not trust in ourselves, but trust in God, the one who is truly trustworthy?
Thoughts?
2 comments:
I imagine living without fear would look something like the life of Jesus. I feel people spend most of their time admiring and praising a God without putting their God's teachings into action. I have to remind myself daily (and when I can remember) that God is within me and all is well.
Fusion,
Thanks for responding! I agree that a life without fear would look like the life Jesus lived. He knew what he was on earth to do and wasn't going to let the brokenness of the world get in the way of fulfilling his mission.
I also agree that we (read: Christians or religious folks) spend too little time actually living out our convictions.
Thanks again!
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