They say that the greatest thing the evil one was ever able to do was to convince the world that he no longer exists. That he is no longer a threat to our society or to our world. To that extent this is true. He has become nothing more than the mythical boogie man that children are no longer afraid of. Yet fear is something the evil one is taking a direct role in these days. As people no longer believe that he exists he is free to do what he pleases. Which includes putting fear into the hearts of those around him.
These days we are more afraid of the world around us than ever before. We are afraid of being close to one another. To give family and friends a hug or a handshake. To gather together in our homes and in our businesses. To even be together for the holidays. Worse we are afraid to gather together in the name of Jesus Christ in our church buildings. The reasons are clear. A house united cannot be destroyed. While a house divided can easily fall apart. The evil one does not want us to be united because to be united means that he cannot win. So he applies the tools of his trade to seek out and to destroy us from with in. Using fear and worry to rob us of our very peace and to use that turn us against one another.
The challenge in all of this is to find the path that allows us to rise above that fear so we can live our lives. To not give into this desire to be afraid of one another. As Christians the answer comes from scripture itself. In fact going though the Bible the one phrase that is shared and repeated in some variation is "do not be afraid". Though out both the old and the new testament. Even Christ says those words a few times. If we accept scripture to be true than we must accept that God is with us. Even when the storm it at it's worse. Perhaps with in our fear we can take the time to pray. It seems to be something that we have lost touch with during the challenges as of late. Prayers for healing. For peace. For unity. Along with praying for an end to the fear that overrides our better sense of judgement.
