Fear Revisited

Where does fear come from?

Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.- Luke 8:35

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus encounters a wild, naked man possessed by demons.  He lives among the tombs and the townspeople fear him.

But they continue to fear him after Jesus cures him.  Seeing him dressed and in his right mind, they are afraid.

Now I am sure if someone new came along and met the man they would have no fear of him.  But what if someone in the town told them about him and his past?  Would they fear him then?

As Christians we believe in salvation through Christ.  We say that through him and through our own repentance we are restored to God, and that should cancel out all the things we have done wrong, or failed to do right.

But it doesn't, does it?

In the eyes of our fellow man, we are still guilty of our past crimes.  Redemption is a long road.

In the Gospel story, the man wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go back among his own people and declare to them what has happened to him.

In other words, he tells the man to face those who fear him and show them he is not what they fear.

That's a difficult task, isn't it?  It would be far easier to go someplace new.

It could be that Jesus wants this man to turn his experience into his personal ministry, to help others overcome their fears and turn back to God.

While it takes very little effort for us to gain salvation through Christ, the real work comes in being an example, a spokesperson for that salvation.

It is in sharing our testimony that we help save others, and that is what I believe we are all called to do.

So, what is it you can share with others to help them overcome their fears?  Perhaps it is as simple as sharing your journey with Christ.

More to come...