A Thought For The Week Of February 27, 2017

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." (1 John 4:18) Here we are. It's Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent. Traditionally, many Christians give up something for Lent - some pleasure; some treat; some behaviour. It's usually nothing earth-shattering or life-changing, but it is a symbolic way of sacrificing to honour Jesus, who made the greatest of sacrifices upon the cross. But as I look at the state of the world around us as Lent 2017 begins, I think there's something more meaningful that Christians need to give up - and that's fear. So many people today live in fear. We see that displayed when we start to target others who are different from us. Statistics tell us that so-called "hate crimes" are on the increase - against Muslims, against Jews, against the LGBTQ community. But I tend to think that they're not so much "hate crimes" as they're "fear crimes." We target those we're afraid of - and usually we target those who we refuse to take the opportunity to get to know and understand. And as Christians we should be the last people to fall before fear. After all, we believe in a God of love, and this verse of the Bible tells us that the opposite of love is not hate, but is really fear. If love comes from God, then we need to remember that hate comes from fear. Hate is a mask we put on to hide our fear. Fear, you see, would make us look weak. No one wants to look weak, so we cover our fear with hate - and hate seems to make us look strong and tough. But that's not true. Hate is simply hidden fear and nothing more. Hate is a sign of weakness rather than a mark of strength. It's nothing to be proud of. And thankfully, there's a remedy for it. "Perfect love casts out fear" because love breaks down barriers and acts to reconcile us to those around us, so that our differences become unimportant and all that really matters is the love Jesus asks us to show to all. So, if you're thinking of giving something up for Lent - well, you can do better than chocolate, or lottery tickets. Give up fear, and truly live in love. That would be a great way to mark Lent!