Fearless

What are your fears in life? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid? The greatest fear of man is to lose one’s life. The fear of de...

What are your fears in life? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid?

The greatest fear of man is to lose one’s life. The fear of death. From here stems the rest of our fears in life: fear of natural calamities, fear of man made terror, fear of losing richness, fear of staying or becoming poor, fear of ailments and diseases, fear of treachery, of being alone, of losing friends, fear of the eyes who are on the watch for any misstep of ours. And the list continues.

The people of old often believed that death is caused by one’s sin. Sin brings forth death. Somehow it’s true, depending on the syntax and context of the sentence. But it does not necessarily mean to be true always. Because not all who die, die because of sin. We die because death is part of our human nature, part of our cycle of life. One thing though that we must always remember, that at a certain point in time, in a particular place called Nazareth, a man came: the Son of Man, Son of God, and Jesus was his name. He came to change the fate of "man" that Adam brought when he sinned against God. He came to tell everyone, that hey brother, one must not be afraid of losing one’s life, because there is an afterlife. And all that must be done while living on earth is to live in righteousness, in just, and in love. 

FEAR NO ONE, Jesus says. On the one hand, he consoles us of his presence and of his coming. But this command of his, to fear no one, is not only for us to be brave in times of trials and tribulations. It is neither a simple boosting of our confidence, nor a consolation. IT IS AN EXHORTATION FOR ALL OF US CHRISTIANS: TO BE NOT AFRAID TO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM, AND TO SHOW THAT WE ARE CHRISTIANS. It is a command for us to be fearless in proclaiming the teachings of Jesus Christ. "What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. Be not afraid of death, of persecutions that comes with the proclamation of the Gospel." Because as Jesus has promised, there is something stored for us in heaven more than what we have in our earthly life.

DO NOT BE AFRAID of facing peoples of different types. Do not be afraid of facing people who do not believe. Do not be afraid of being criticized because you are a Christian. Do not be afraid to proclaim our loving God. You know, I feel proud of some of our brother Protestants who are fearless to speak about God and of our salvation that Jesus brought us in public places, in buses and many times they are laughed at and criticized. And I feel pity that many of us "called Christians" are ashamed of or would not even speak about God, of the teachings of Jesus, not even inside our house, not even with our family members.

DO NOT BE AFRAID to die, to get killed because you are a Christian. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” The Lord will protect us. Life in God doesn't end here. There is afterlife.

DO NOT BE AFRAID for we are all worthy for him. Do not think that you are not worthy in the eyes of God just because despite your witnessing and your firm faith, you still suffer or get tortured or get killed. Because many who have served the Lord, preached, proclaimed also in the end, had the same fate as Jesus Christ: killed or died. If death comes to us, it comes because it is our time. And it doesn’t mean that we are not worthy of his love. “We are worth more than many sparrows.”

My dear friends, Jesus exhorts us today TO BE FEARLESS WITNESSES AND MESSENGERS OF THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL. And we should always remember: "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."


BE NOT AFRAID. TRUST IN GOD.