Fear
There have been a few events in life that I have not looked forward to. Losing my hair was one of them. I used to have a fairly extensive mop, ridiculously corralled in the 1980’s by a perm. This gave me a fringe that stuck out so far at the front of my forehead, I could have got part time employment as a bus shelter. Transitioning from that to having a marooned peninsula on the top of my head (I used to have Texas, but now it’s more like the Isle of Wight) has not been a joy.
Visits to the dentist have not filled me with ecstasy either. It’s hard to be thrilled and not afraid in the presence of a grinning fellow who is eager to insert a pound of stainless steel instruments (including a pneumatic drill) between one’s molars.
But there’s one item that is scheduled for sometime in my future that I would certainly like to avoid - and that is dying. I’d definitely prefer Jesus to return in my lifetime, thus cancelling my appointment with our local funeral directors. Our human tendency to be afraid of death is very real, which is why most undertakers don’t locate their premises in High Streets or shopping malls. Denial is the trend. As Woody Allen put it, ‘I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens’.
To state the screamingly obvious, there’s a lot of fear around at the moment. With chaps in the White House gathering to discuss peace and then getting into a huff about fashion protocols, nervousness about the possibility of the Russian bear hungrily eyeing wider Europe, the ongoing tragedy of conflict in the Middle East, and closer to home, political and economic uncertainties abounding, it’s easy to be rather terrified. Assaulted by a daily diet of alarming headlines, those of us who follow Jesus hear Him offer, not just an exhortation, but a gentle command: Don’t be afraid. Bluntly, at times like this, still dusting ourselves down after the apocalypse that was Covid, His words can seem laughable, ridiculous even.
But then if Jesus calls us to refuse fear, then it must be possible to do just that, His Spirit and strength helping us. Our Christian ancestors have modelled this for us. Living in a world far more chaotic and uncertain than our own, with mad emperors raging and starving lions roaring, many of them stared death down. And in our own day, our sisters and brothers who are persecuted because they love Jesus manage to stand firm and faithful when they know that they may well pay the ultimate price.
And so it seems to me that the only way to avoid fear in life is to make peace with death. If we really believe that Christ is raised, then it is only logical to refuse the terror that’s appropriate for those who sadly think that death is the end of everything. For the believer, death is the beginning of a new everything. This was the attitude of my late friend Steve Legg, who I have previously written about. ‘If I’m healed, Jeff, I have a powerful testimony’, he smiled. If I die, I’m with Jesus. Either way it’s a win-win’. This was not a flippant throwaway from a head-in-the-sand optimist. Husband, father and grandfather Steve had no appetite for death and loved his life. This was an authentic reflection of an attitude that the apostle Paul, who had an uncanny knack for sparking a life threatening riot wherever he went, expressed to his pals in Philippi: ‘For me to live is Christ - to die is gain’.
And this echoes the perspective that Jesus gives us. In calling us to ‘not let our hearts be troubled’, He then immediately began to talk, not only about our future accommodations in the Father’s house, but more significantly about how our eternity includes being with Him, always, forever. His message was not a glib, ‘don’t worry, be happy’ but rather, ‘I’m about to remove the sting of death, to beat it, once and for all. In the light of that, the only thing to fear is fear’.
Let’s allow this truth to galvanise our hearts: Christ had died, Christ is risen, and by grace, we too will rise with Him in glory, come what may. Death is a Goliath slain at the hands of our Jesus, the Son of David. Thank God, and Hallelujah indeed.