Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/83

Contributor - Rev. Henri Oosterveld

Title - Creative Fear

Topic - Fear

If we were to take a few moments to list those things that make us afraid, I suspect not one of us would have much of a problem coming up with a pretty substantial list. The things that make us afraid take many different forms.

Fear's Many Forms:

Perhaps the least offensive form fear takes is in the superstitious phobias of our culture. We are warned to avoid walking under ladders, stepping on cracks in sidewalks, the number " 13 " and black cats at night.

Closely related to such superstitious fears are personal fears such as the fear of heights (acrophobia), the fear of dogs (cynophobia), the fear of snakes (astraphobia), and so on. It is an almost endless list that even includes the fear of fear itself (phobophobia).

Other fears, such as that of providing for one's family, finding a job or keeping the one we have, meeting mortgage payments, meeting the church budget or maintaining wholesome and meaningful relationships with others have more of a social and interpersonal dimension to them.

Finally, there is the fear that takes a more general and universal form, the most outstanding of which is apocalyptic, that it will be all over for us in a fraction of a second in a ball of fire which is part of a nuclear holocaust.

We have a lot to be afraid of, don't we?

My purpose is not so much that of pointing out the multitude of forms fear takes, but rather, I wish to pose the more general question as to whether we still have any fear of God. Or have we made God so familiar, so commonplace and so casual today that there is nothing left in Him to fear?

Jeremiah's Experience-

In Chapter 20 of Jeremiah's prophecy (vs 7 - 10), we see that the prophet also had a lot to be afraid of, including the wrath of personal friends. A priest had thrown him in jail and he was accused of being a traitor to his country. As if all this wasn't enough, Jeremiah also felt God had abused him. He found that to be the most difficult to deal with for it appears that he felt taken advantage of, seduced, ravished and overpowered by God.

It appears Jeremiah wanted to be pleasant and courteous, to speak comforting words to his listeners. Yet every time he opened his mouth he brought bad news, news predicting violence, bloodshed, destruction and death. His message wasn't filled with the reassurances his listeners would have preferred. He apparently said things that even a part of himself did not want to say, for he was so consumed by what was inside him that it just had to come out. The process took its toll. The prophet felt rejection, even by God Himself, after those he tried to reach had thrown him out. The outcome was that Jeremiah felt defeated and overcome by what God seemed to be asking of him, and he feared for his life.

I suspect there is something here each of us can relate to, the sense of powerlessness and futility, that we don't stand a chance over against God. It is the sense of having been run over and tossed aside by the events of the world and that regardless of what our own design may be, we're powerless against God's determination to be in charge. He will be Lord over us!

I don't want to suggest that God delights in standing over against us, but He does have the final say. He does have the final say with stubborn, perverse, determined and selfish people. Though we may want things our own way, He will be our Lord!

Matthews' Contribution:

It is not an easy undertaking to yield to the will of God. Yet that is precisely the route to a deeper understanding and a deeper awareness of who we really are in comparison to Him. He has the final say in things, "For nothing is conceived that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Matt. 10:26). This deeper awareness brings with it the recognition of God's strength. It also creates deep fear and anguish in us. At times it makes us tremble, but it also gives us confidence and strength, for if He is for us, who can stand against us?

That was Jeremiah's experience. After his devastating personal defeat, he emerged more and more confident of it God's plan for him. The same could be said of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, and so on, for they too had a genuine awareness of God's power and stood in awe of it. They all feared God.

In Matthew's gospel we see the same sense of awe and reverence. It is suggested that believers can expect to be persecuted (ch. 10), but the real emphasis here is on how one is to respond to such persecution (10:26 - 33).

Our Present Condition:

It may seem to us that the persecution of Christians is a thing of the past. The faithful are no longer thrown to the lions, stoned or burned at the stake in our culture. On that basis one might argue that Christians aren't persecutes anymore in this so-called enlightened age of ours. But then again, we might wonder about that. Has everyone today become Christian or is it because we are not sufficiently Christian that we seem to escape persecution? Has the sharp edge of Christianity gone dull in modem society and is that why we' re so fearful and anxious about so many of the goings on that might not otherwise upset us?

There's not a night that goes by here at home when we can't turn on the news and hear of one, or two, or sometimes several shootings or other violent deaths. It doesn't seem to matter much what the circumstances are. The victim is killed for no apparent reason at all, the perpetrator is shot by the police while attempting to escape, or the police are shot whether they're on or off duty. Now You may very well point out to me that news I'm talking about comes from New York City and that's why it's so bad. But you know it's not quite as simple as that, is it?

There is a dimension in which this violence, and more particularly the fear that goes along with it, is not limited to the boundaries of any one city, town or locality. There is a tendency of fear to lock us up inside of ourselves, into a paralyzing indifference to others. That can happen regardless of where we live. The outcome of such fear is a numbness that robs us of vision, and then a kind of deadness sets in. Our bodies may move, they may appear to live, but there's spiritual numbness and death. And what is death but that which denies a person dignity and worth, denies one the vision of a yearning spirit?

How easily and subtly we accommodate such deadness! How readily we come up with compromises to violence! How readily we accept war as a legitimate way to settle differences! We learn to live with injustice, fraud and deceit. We don't like them, yet, on the other hand, we don't seem to mind them all that much either, do we?

There's a subtle way in which fear paralyzes us into accepting the contradictions and paradoxes of our beliefs and our behaviours. The more the numbness and paralysis set in, the more we're headed down the road of the domain of death.

Creative Fear Through Christ.-

Existing in the realm of fear and death is terrifying, but even more terrifying is the reign of Christ. In His presence we're exposed, and we see how far we've fallen short of His example. In contrast to the fear that paralyzes stands the creative fear which is grounded in the awe, the reverence and trembling that comes from knowing the power and promise of the living Christ. Creative fear comes from knowing the bruised, suffering and broken, yet radiant and victorious Christ. In His presence we dare to become somebody because in His eyes we already are somebody; that's the heart of creative fear.

Christians know that Christ's suffering was not accidental. He didn't bring it upon Himself. No, it was the result of taking a stand against the numbing forces of death.

His death was an expression of obedience. An expression of the penetration of God's Love into His life. It was part of God's plan. He was an instrument of God's purpose.

It is the example and model of Christ that points out to us that we are joined together with all people. Through Him e see that we're not free from fear and suffering as long as anyone suffers. That's the example the life of Christ Himself places before us.

As we participate in His suffering and His death we begin to get a handle on the business of fear. When we confront the powers of darkness and indifference, when we start out on the road toward a frank, sincere and creative fear of God, we begin to put our personal and superstitious fears into perspective.

Having the fear of God then means taking upon ourselves part of the work and burden of Christ Himself, confronting the realm of fear, indifference and death. It means humbling ourselves to His will with a sense of reverence and awe. We will never know His will if we do not stretch ourselves to be Christlike. At the same time our Christian tradition tells us we have no life which is apart from the decisions we make in this life on earth. Our present lives have everlasting effects and that knowledge allows us to stand with Christ and to rest our doubts in His courage. That's the makeup and meaning of creative fear.

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