JULY 11, 2014
Paranoia
In Reverse
Read: 1
John 4:1-6,17-19
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear
involves torment. —1
John 4:18
I remember watching
television news reports in 1991 as the nonviolent revolution took place in the
streets of Moscow. Russians who had grown up in totalitarianism suddenly
declared, “We will act as if we are free,” taking to the streets and staring
down tanks. The contrast between the faces of the leaders inside and the masses
outside showed who was really afraid, and who was really free.
Watching the newsreels
from Red Square on Finnish television, I came up with a new definition of
faith: paranoia in reverse. A truly paranoid person organizes his or her life
around a common perspective of fear. Anything that happens feeds that fear.
Faith works in
reverse. A faithful person organizes his or her life around a common
perspective of trust, not fear. Despite the apparent chaos of the present
moment, God does reign. Regardless of how I may feel, I truly matter to a God
of love.
What could happen if
we in God’s kingdom truly acted as if the words of the apostle John were
literally true: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1
John 4:4). What if we really started living as if the most-repeated prayer in
Christendom has actually been answered—that God’s will be done on earth as it
is in heaven?
Far, far above thy
thought
His counsel shall
appear,
When fully He the work
hath wrought
That caused thy
needless fear. —Gerhardt
Feeding your faith
helps starve your fears.
Insight
First John 4:2-3 is
used often by Christians as a test to determine if one is demon-possessed. This
ignores the context. John is warning against false prophets who deny the
humanity of Christ and teach that Jesus only appeared to be human. A false
teacher is one who denies that Jesus Christ is both fully man and fully God.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
