So, it has been made clear that the fear of the unknown is the hot topic for the week. I’m not bashing that, because it is a great topic.
I think that we can all relate to the readings, not necessarily being trapped in a pit watching as a pendulum which is our ultimate demise swings lower and lower, but the fear of what is before us. We all have had moments where we don’t know either a)what will happen next, or b)how we will deal with what actually does happen next. In saying this, we must recognize that the fear does not come from what happens next, it spawns from the fact that we don’t already know what will happen next.
Sure, our unknowns may not be nearly as intense as what we read about, but they still bring about a feeling of fear. This is why many Christians are afraid to do things that are unfamiliar or that we don’t have an idea of how they will turn out. I have been reading a book called The Trellis and the Vine lately, and in it, Tony Marshall states that we get caught up in doing the “stuff” at church so that we don’t have to do the difficult, or scary, things that we need to do. He asked something along the lines of, which is easier: to go work for the church and rake up some leaves, or share the gospel with your neighbor over the back fence?
Even though Christians are commanded to preach the word, we find it uncomfortable not knowing how the person will react to what we say. I know it seems weird to compare Poe with the Christian walk, but a fear of the unknown can be applied pretty much anywhere in life.
P.S. I commented on fear and faith by Amanda.
first of all i wanted to say that I was not sure how you were going to tie in the vine with Poe, but I am glad to see that you pulled it off nicely. Secondly, I want to endorse that book, because it's a great book that gives you the mind-set of true ministry. In regards to what you said, I think half of the problem is that people get stingy with the light and become scared to shine it in the darkness in fear of the many things that could be there to swallow them up, or take them out of their comfortable state of being.
ReplyDeleteWe could start a whole other blog on Christians fearing the unknown! I like how you tied that in with Poe, all too often we get grounded in our comfort zone and forget that God calls us to the unknown to bring his truths to people who would otherwise never hear. Poe does this as well but with a much darker twist!
ReplyDeleteIts a weird thing to think about how the unknown is so scary to humans. The simple fact that the unknown is not known, or in other words not seen or experienced yet, is why it is so scary to us. Security for humans is grounded largely in knowing what to expect, and even more so how to confront what is expected. What you said about Christians is also spot on. As part of our human nature, we feel comfortable when we know what to expect and how we are going to deal with it. However, as Christians we are called to wholeheartedly commit to whatever it is God is calling us to with absolutely no idea how it will turn out. It kinda seems that thats like turning a corner in a house to face a pitch black hallway and then sprinting through it to who knows where.
ReplyDelete