Love or Fear

Isaiah 44:6-8New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
    and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
    besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
    let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
    Let them tell us what is yet to be.
Do not fear, or be afraid;
    have I not told you from of old and declared it?
    You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
    There is no other rock; I know not one.

I've said before here that perhaps the most common phrase in the Bible is "Do not fear" or "do not be afraid.

More than anything else.

More than "sin no more"

More than anything.

Jesus says it in the New Testament.

God says it to the Israelites.

What would it look like if we took God seriously here?

Would not being afraid make it simpler to take God seriously in other places? 

Would it be easier to love our neighbor?

Would it be easier to love our enemy or turn the other cheek?

Would it be easier to share our resources and strive toward justice and mercy?

Would it be easier to understand what Jesus means by the Kingdom - the KIN-dom of God?

Would we stop thinking so much about heaven and hell that we see the life in front of us right here and right now?

Would grace make sense to us then?

Do not fear.  Some have said that the opposite of love is not hate, but instead is fear. Think of all that happens in this world in the name of fear.

And if that went away, what kind of love would blossom and bloom?

Lord of love and mercy, help me not to be afraid, but to walk with eyes wide open into this expansive world of yours with love guiding me in all things.  Amen.