February 2021
“Once, an engine attached to a
train was afraid of a few drops of rain.
It went into a tunnel and squeaked through its funnel and wouldn't come out
again!”
You may remember that the engine was Henry and his fear was
that the rain would spoil his green paint with red stripes. The story (at least in its original version)
has a sad end. Having failed to get
Henry to come out, the Fat Controller has the rails taken away and the tunnel
bricked up with Henry still inside.
Healthy fear is good: those without fear should not be
allowed near busy roads; fear of the sea is a qualification for being a sailor,
not a handicap. But fear can be
misdirected or disproportionate. If I am
so afraid of traffic that I never leave my house then I am trapped by my fear. If I am so afraid of flying that I choose
instead to travel by motorbike then my irrational fear is putting me in even greater
danger.
Jesus said, “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 hell” (Matthew 10:28). God
(like the sea) is good, but God (like the sea) is dangerous too. Jesus knew that he could not offer his
brand-new disciples a ‘safe working environment’. As he sent them out to be his representatives
they would be like sheep among wolves, in constant danger of being hated,
arrested and killed. But the greater
danger was that their fear might lead them to abandon their trust in Jesus and let
go of his promise to give forgiveness and abundant life to those who keep
trusting him to the end. We understandably
fear anything or anyone that has the power to end our life but Jesus wants us
to be much more concerned about meeting him as our Judge.
The Fat Controller may have lacked warmth and compassion in
his appeal to Henry but Jesus does not: “Are
not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from the will of your Father … So don't be afraid; you are worth more
than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29,31)
Does your fear face in the right direction?
Sincerely
Graham Burrows
