Love and Fear:

Something to Think About for December 17, 2014:

Literature, movies, and certainly folklore are full of tales of people dealing with fear.  Some successfully and others, not so much. I've not served in the military, or been an explorer.  I've never had to land a plane with a dead engine, in the dark.  My life has been blessedly free of those terrorizing scenes that make one sit on the edge of his seat in a movie theater.  But, I have been afraid.  I have had to, and have to, fight fear.  I suspect you do as well. Getting ready for a Bible study this morning I read this brief account about a great warrior, Benaiah: " He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day." (2 Samuel 23:20).   If ever there were a situation that screamed, "Leave it alone!" this was it.  If it is wise to let sleeping dogs lie, how much more to allow pitted lions to stay in the hole--especially when there is snow on the ground.  Even more-so when you consider that Benaiah wasn't lion hunting with a high-powered rifle.  I figure his feat was accomplished hand to claw. In our little study we guys asked the question, "Why?"  We admitted that we don't have the data for a definitive answer, but we were given a hint when we looked at the rest of Benaiah's record.  Clearly he was a man of faithfulness who highly regarded duty.  He was David's body guard, and was key in making sure that David's chosen successor, Solomon ascended to the throne.  I have to figure there was a reason Benaiah went down into that pit on a snowy day to face a lion.  Maybe they had been hunting down a rogue beast.  It was cornered in a pit and someone had to finish the job at hand.  Maybe it was a random thing, but a lion in a pit is liable to get out, and when it does . . . Better take care of business while one can.  Bottom line: We don't why the lion was in the pit or why Benaiah had to join him there.  Though Benaiah was an incredible warrior--one of David's Mighty Men, he had to fight another foe, before he faced the lion, fear. I've not faced a lion, but I have stared into the eyes of fear.  Generally the fear I have faced didn't growl and threaten, it lurked, barely seen, but very real.  John says "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18).  Jay Adams, a counselor and teacher of counselors, encourages asking this question, "What loving thing is my fear keeping me from doing?"  Love is worth going down into the pit to face that fear, even on a snowy day. It's Something To Think About. (My thoughts were encouraged by Chapter 6 in the book The Hard Corps, by Dai Hankey.)