S229P13 – Words to live by: proper fear

Lk. 12:4-7

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Jesus had just told his disciples to beware the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. (v. 1)  This hypocrisy, though carefully disguised by these leaders before many, would not remain that way.  It would come before the light and be exposed in time.  This concept is key for the current passage about proper fear.  The disciples would have a hard road ahead of them.  They could expect to come up against the same opposition that Jesus faced.  As ones teaching what He taught, they could expect no better reception from the lovers of the world.  (Mt. 10:16-25)  One of the pressures they could expect to encounter would be the fear of what men can do to the body, a pressure Jesus faced himself.

If faced with having to deny their faith in order to save themselves, the disciples would have two options.  The first option would be to deny that faith.  The second option would be to deny themselves.  Regardless of the option selected, it would not be kept secret.  God sees all, and that selection would be made known to him just as the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  The competing fears here are the fear of men and the fear of God.  The Pharisees might be able to bring pain and even physical death, but they should not be feared as God should be feared.  They might have power over the body, but only God has power over the soul.  Saving the former at the expense of the latter brings a death greater than the physical.

Sacrificing the soul in order to preserve the body is like sacrificing the temporary at the expense of the eternal.  Conversely, we have the option to sacrifice the temporary in order to gain the eternal.  We must remember that all things will be exposed to the light.  When we acknowledge and defend the Son, the Son will do the same for us.  If we are brought to suffer pain, trials, or even death for the sake of Christ, his Father will remember that.  He will care for us and restore us on that day, so we need not fear those who try to take anything from us here.  Father, strengthen our faith and courage, that we would not fear men but that we would fear You and stand against the world for the sake of your kingdom.