Dear Members and Friends,
Do you have any fears or phobias? Are there turmoils or trepidations that lie dormant in your soul, rearing their disquieting heads given the right circumstances?
Three of the most enduring phobias I've had in my life are fear of deep water, fear of heights and fear of public speaking. I almost drowned on three separate occasions in my youth and while I'm not sure of the origin of my aversion to extreme elevation or public elocution, regular readers of this monthly piece will recall my imprudent decision to renew a couple's wedding vows at 2,000 feet, dangling high above the earth in a small wicker basket. Chechen rebels armed with AK-47 assault rifles could not convince me to ever again board a hot-air balloon untethered to the ground!
Even so, it dawned on me recently that the activities I most thoroughly enjoy in life are scuba diving, alpine skiing and preaching. All of these pursuits involve an intimate encounter with things I most deeply dread - things that more than anything else can bring me to the brink of real panic. Now a psychiatrist could have a field day analyzing my choices, but beyond this possibility lies the reality that my pastimes and profession have afforded me access to particular delights and wonders, when I was willing to persevere through layers of initial discomfort.
Fear can often be a very good and natural thing, but on balance, when feeling afraid, my life has been much the poorer when I have practiced avoidance, and greatly enriched when I have purposefully pushed ahead. Whether in changing denominations, changing careers, lifestyle changes or even in changing diapers, initially scary prospects have almost always led me to an increased sense that life is phenomenal and God is incredible. Still, my fears and phobias remain.
On his way to Calvary we can see that even the Lord was afraid. This goes to show how great and steadfast was his faith. As for me, I have a checkered history of advance mixed with retreat - running away as readily as I have surged ahead. So I have come to rely on Jesus Christ, not on myself. Because his enduring affection will always surpass our abiding weakness, sin will be eclipsed by grace, and death will give way to resurrection. Thus we call it Good Friday - a terrifying Cross on the way to a Triumphant Tomb.
From Reverend William J. Keane,
Senior Minister of First Baptist Church of Branford
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