Theology Blog

We live in a fear based culture without question. The church has become a fear based organization much like the culture. Fear is not a Biblical value. It may seem like one, but the number of times the Bible (and Jesus) tell us not to fear is hard to count. Sure, the Bible references the fear of the Lord (and that is primarily meant to say respect), but that is not what I am talking about nor is that the issue.

It seems we can take one of two paths and as Christians, the path we are called to is narrow, hard and counter cultural. It is the path of following and imitating Jesus.

The first path is the path of fear. Fear motivates us to worry, to criticize, to judge, to hate and so much more. Fear is often rooted in lack of knowledge, whether of self or something external. Ironically, fear and ignorance together often lead to arrogance. This path often leads to judgement and hatred. You combine this with a focus on being religious and it is downright toxic and contradictory to what Jesus has for us.

The Jesus path is the path of trust. Trust of God. Trust allows us to grow, to see the best, to be a people of hope rather than a people of fear. It allows us to focus on understanding rather than being understood. The path of trust creates a sense of teachability and often increases self-knowledge, eventually blotting out ignorance. This path leads to a perspective of grace and love rather than judgment and criticism. This perspective is rooted not in religion, but in relationship with Jesus, it is truly the path of faith.

We each have a choice as to which path we will choose in our lives as we approach our own life, our family, the church and the world. Its not an easy choice and the path of Jesus is not easy. Narrow is the gate…

As for me, I pray that by the grace and help of God that I will always choose the Jesus path.