Proverbs 9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…
There’s a great scene in the movie home alone where Kevin (the boy who is home alone) is afraid and hiding under his parents’ bed, but then realizes he shouldn’t be scared. “This is ridiculous,” he says, “only a wimp would be hiding under a bed.” Then Kevin goes outside and announces to the whole world that he is not afraid anymore, that is until his seemingly terrifying neighbor causes him to go running and screaming back into the house.
Christ came to Earth so that we would never have to be afraid. So that we would never again have to hide under the bed. So that we can go outside and declare to the world, Hey! I’m not afraid anymore.
But unlike Kevin’s short lived courage that was produced from the inside out, our courage comes from something outside of us. Not from an inner declaration, but from a divine declaration. Fear not. When the angels came to the shepherds on Jesus’ birthday this is what they said to the whole world:
Luke 2:10. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
But wait a minute, Proverbs 9:10 tells us to fear the Lord. So which is it? Do we fear or do we fear not?
We talked about this a few days ago when we talked about Mary’s fear of the Lord in Luke chapter one. Her fear of the Lord allowed her to move past her fear of man. Here, in Luke chapter two, we see that the message of fear not is for all people, not just Mary, and not just the shepherds. Why? Because the good news of great joy is for all the people. Including you.
It is the good news alone that can remove fear from our lives. When Kevin McAllister (Home Alone) tried to muster up his own courage it lasted for about two minutes. But do you remember where Kevin found true and lasting courage? That’s right, in the church, literally. While hiding from the bad guys in the presence of God, Kevin found peace with his scary neighbor and the courage he needed to face the “Wet Bandits.” The rest is movie history.
Make no mistake, God alone is to be feared. Not man. Not our neighbor, and not even our enemies. We weren’t created and re-created in Christ to hide, not even from God. We weren’t united to Christ’s life to spend the rest of our earthly days avoiding people, appeasing people, or controlling people. Christ doesn’t indwell us so that we can keep feeling insecure about ourselves or play the victim forever. We aren’t hidden in Christ so that we can hide under the bed.
When you fear God alone, when you live in awe and wonder at his holiness and mercy, then, and only then can you begin to declare “Hey, I’m not afraid anymore.” I’m not afraid of tomorrow. I’m not afraid of yesterday. I’m not afraid of my own heart and what it may reveal about me if I let Christ take control. I fear only God, and only God has removed my fear by the good news of his grace for me in Christ Jesus.
God’s message is never to simply stop being afraid. It is to stop being afraid BECAUSE there is good news. Christ has come to save us! And if Christ is for us, then no one and nothing can ever stand against us.
You: What or who do you fear most? What keeps you hiding under the bed?
You in Christ: How does our union with Christ remove our fear of man?
Christ in you: Where do you need to replace fear of man with fear of God today?
Pray: Father, I want to fear you, trust you, love you. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. Let me trust your good news more than I fear any bad news. Amen.
To Live is Christ 