A-Feared

Isaiah 12.2 (RSV)
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

The things that scare me have changed over my lifetime. I can still vividly remember the long night when I was 8 years old lying in my bed watching (what imagination said was true) that the shadows that danced on my ceiling were none other than a person pacing outside my window. That’s not so much a concern to me these days, but I sure get a little afraid when I’m not sure a restaurant takes a credit card because I just gave the rest of my cash to the kids.

What about you? What things scare the tar out of you? Is it financial? Is it something about a significant relationship? Are you unsure of the future? All of these are part of what it means to be human and all of these, I bet, we have all struggled with at some point in life.
   
When we experience again the love of God in Jesus, we are shown that salvation comes in terms of love which means that we are to look at the world and others through that lens of love. We are to look, not necessarily out for ourselves alone, but seek ways to find a future, develop significant relationships, and trust in God’s economy as a starting point and not an end point.

That is our beginning, as those who strive to live a Jesus type way in the world. We love, says the scriptures, because we were shown a love by God who is audacious enough to love us first and expects us to love in a similar fashion. Yes it is hard and yes it is a little scary. Yes it is something that we learn to live into one day at a time trusting that we will be made right by the gift of the Holy Spirit as long as we surrender to the will of God for our lives.

Grace and peace,
Rev. Brian