Friday, July 4, 2003
Friday, July 4, 2003
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 are more apt to be haunted by anxiety, worry, dread. Anxiety comes from the Latin, anxious,
meaning a tight feeling in the chest. It is fear that stays with us even when there is no real,
concrete, knowable stimulus. It is the fear of the uncertain, the possible, the "what if." Anxiety
comes not from without but from within.
As usual, Paul put his finger right on it. Fear, when it manifests itself as anxiety, worry, dread, is
a spirit. It is something we carry around with us on the inside. We have it long before we
encounter anything actually worth fearing. It is a condition of the mind, the heart, the soul. Thus
the only cure is a reorientation within. That is why Paul writes, "You did not receive the spirit of
slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship."
(1 John 4.18
NRSV)
The word fear comes from the Old English, faer, meaning sudden danger. It refers to fright
where fright is justified. It refers to danger that is concrete, real, knowable. In such cases fear is
appropriate, and sometimes useful, if one is to escape harm. Such fear is the least of out
problems, however.
Lord Jesus, continue to take my fear away as I trust more fully in you. Amen.
