This summer there was a shooting right in front of my house. This week the neighbors across the street from us were burglarized. The teenage son came home after school while the burglery was in progress. The thieves pointed a gun at him and escaped. The stole guns and other things.
At first I responded with fear, but that is changing.
Something else I thought about. In the last 18 months there has been killer tsunami that took the lives of over 100,000 souls in
Then I read today that there may be a killer flue virus that may kill several millions or 100 million. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9535929/
My first reaction is fear.
In the book of Psalms (in the Bible) the writer says, I will not fear even if the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea. The Bible also talks about certain “last days” in which he allows natural disasters and war to trouble man kind and get their attention.
My fear comes when I feel a perceived loss of control. The sane thing is that I never am in control. I don’t control the weather or the environment, even though I can contribute to its good. I don’t control the actions of others, even though I work to make the world a better place. Ultimately I am always at risk of death or injury in a great cataclysm or disaster which is outside of my control.
So where is my hope? My hope is in eternal life in Christ. I believe that this mortal life on earth is such a small fraction of my total life, that in eternity it will seem like a brief gasp. The Apostle Paul in the Bible refers to events in our lives as “light and momentary suffering. Keep in mind that Paul suffered a lot including an extended stay in prison.
My eternal life with Christ holds so much greater promise and is far far more substantial that this brief stay, that even the worst of suffering is soon over.
I still react in fear, but my faith in Christ allows me to redirect to hope in Christ. I don’t have to fear anything or any one who can kill my body, because they can not kill my soul. That is safely hidden away in Christ.