Pastor's Column April 11, 2010

Two things.

The first is a caution. People often misuse scripture. For ex., Jesus’ saying, “He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,” has often been misunderstood and used to justify un-Christian actions.

William Sloane Coffin says, “(This saying) is not really cruel. Loving Christ more than our fathers and mothers simply saves the love we have for our parents from idolatry. You remember the poem of Lovelace that goes,

I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Loved I not honor more.

“Substitute ‘Jesus’ for ‘honor’ and you have the formula for saving God-given mercies, our loved ones, from becoming a Satanic temptation: to think there’s nothing more. I don’t hear Christ asking us to pull the house down on the heads of our mothers and fathers, husbands, wives, and children. I hear him only reminding us that God, as the source of love, is the proper head of every loving household.”
Let’s be sure to do our homework regarding scripture.

The second thing is a reminder. “Fear kills a mind and soul by slowly obliterating the visions we hold for our lives. That we should not fall prey to fear is a constant theme in the scriptures. God does not want us to succumb to the chilling and killing aspects of fear; God encourages people not to be afraid of the circumstances in which they find themselves. It seems that one of God’s favorite themes is ‘Do not be afraid’ or ‘Do not fear.’ Perhaps God repeats this theme so often because we so often fear circumstances that confront us in our lives and ministries.

“God is not suggesting that we will not confront fearful realities in our lives. God is simply promising not to abandon us to fearful circumstance. God will go with us through the dark night of fear, danger, and uncertainty.

“Fear, left to eat away at us, finally brings us to a ‘little-death.’ We must not deny our fear or avoid dealing with the fearful moment. In scripture God never suggests an escapist attitude as an antidote for fear. The many ‘do not be afraid’ promises in scripture do not suggest that we shun the fearful prospects in which we find ourselves, but God consistently promises to be with us in the dark and ominous moment.”. – Norman Shawchuck.