PASTOR’S COLUMN – November 2024

   

   “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.  We love because he first loved us.  Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”

                                                                                              – I John 4:18-21

   Life is hazardous to your health.

   That’s the premise of author Laura Lee’s book, 100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What You Can Do About Them.  It’s a comical look at the unrecognized threats in everyday life, such as shopping carts – which annually cause close to 30,000 injuries in the U.S.; and dishwashers – which last year caused over 2,000 injuries worldwide.  One reason for writing the book, the author says, was “to poke fun at the culture of fear.”

   The culture of fear.  This is what we have come to.  We have disintegrated into a society, a people, who fear everything:

   We fear germs – so we wash constantly.

   We fear the “monsters” around every corner – so we lock ourselves into our homes.

   We fear personal contact – so we stare at our phones instead of talking to the people right around us.

   We fear change – so we cocoon and reminisce.

   We fear loss – so we grasp.

   We fear the future – so we hoard.

   A culture of fear.  Are you often afraid?  What scares you?

   John the Apostle tells us that “perfect love casts out fear.”  You want to start overcoming some of your fears?  Get out and love someone with the perfect love of Jesus Christ.  Speak to strangers, listen, care, give, sacrifice.

   As Christians – a people defined as having been reborn by the perfect love of God in Christ Jesus – let us pledge to be a people who do not conform to the world and its culture of fear.  Let us resolve instead to be a people who break the hold of this fearful world by bringing the perfect love of Jesus Christ into every place we find ourselves and everything we do.

   Remember:  The power of Christ within you is far greater than the power of evil around you!

   In Christ,

  Rev. Clark Lynn Callender