After a terrorist attack in London, Bono turned his song into a prayer, asking that we would not become a monster to defeat a monster.*
We become what we fear. We become angrier at our father than he ever was at us; we become more violent in mind and heart towards the bully than he ever was towards us. We hate our haters more. And then the ultimate blow is our self-loathing, when we see that our deepest driver is our fear, our cowardice. We hate ourselves for fearing. Jesus comforted us in our fear, but also admonished us not to fear. He turned our attention from fearing man - 'who can kill the body and do no more...' - to fearing God, who can completely destroy even the soul. (Luke 12:4-5) To fear God more - God's way - is to release us from fear of man, and breaks peace over our soul like a soothing ointment. Christ's way to defeat death, was in being meek - not weak. The grave could not contain this power. I always wondered at the scripture that says, 'Perfect love drives out fear.' (I John 4:18) I now feel it is to not only release us from the darkness of what we fear, but to love others by not fixating on, becoming that darkness. 'The meek will inherit the earth, and enjoy peace and prosperity.' (Psalm 34:11) 'Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.' (Jesus, Matthew 5:5) *Miss Sarajevo, U2, live version from London, UK
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AuthorPeter Walker. I hope you enjoy these reflections. Please feel free to comment!:) Archives
February 2024
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