The tragedies that made the headlines last week, in Boston, near Waco, Iraq and China, shocked many. With its TV coverage, social media conversations and copious video footage from smartphones, the Boston Marathon bombings were everywhere. This story was seen through the eyes of those involved. The police investigation was played out on twitter with regular postings from those in the area.
One thing that spread through the event was fear. If such an atrocity could happen at a marathon, it could happen anywhere. Was anything safe? What about the London Marathon? There was, as the week progressed, a mixture of fear, but also growing defiance. At its most basic, this is fear of the unknown. We begin to think these things could happen at any moment and it is easy to find ourselves caught in the headlights of ‘what if’.
There are two phrases in the Bible that often stand out for me. On first appearance, they appear to contradict themselves. The first is the fear of the Lord. It appears throughout the Bible and is easily misunderstood. The other phrase, is do not be afraid. I hold both phrases close, and often use one to interpret the other during Bible study. My point is that we should fear, or respect, something that is all-powerful, in this case God. But we should not unduly worry about something that has limited power and uses that power to terrorise. And how wonderful it is, that someone that is all-powerful, comes close and whispers, ‘do not be afraid.’
I often see the awesome, all-powerful nature of God through creation. The Seed is full of images (like the one above) that can bring us, and others, closer to God. Remember you can use the search box to look for specific images, and if you follow us on twitter and ‘like’ our facebook page, you’ll find I’m always posting great resources that I’ve found, in addition to those I’ve added below for this week.
