Iron Mountain ski jump

Iron Mountain ski jump

Sunday, September 11, 2016

FEAR NOT, 9/11 or 5/19

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith for the Years of Winter

Recently an old high school acquaintance came across my email address via another high school acquaintance. He sends out group emails. I’m now included in that group.

He was a year ahead of me in school. I did not know him well. We did not hang around together. But in a small school, you’re always in some of the same activities, and you get acquainted that way. I remember him as a nice kid, just a regular kid, like all the rest of us.

These days he is very religious. Every day I get several emails from him quoting Bible verses, many of them having to do with love and forgiveness. Also every day he sends several irrational rants, such as: “Obama is a socialist muslim [sic] devil” and “you can tell Moochelle Obama hates America because she holds her hand wrong during the national anthem” and “the Obama daughters are ugly and dress like sluts” and “the supreme court is taking away our freedom” and “the gay agenda is all about taking over and putting straights in concentration camps.”

I think he really wants to be a Christian, to believe in and live in the love of God. But he is pulled between 9/11 and 5/19. On 9/11, Christians can either give in to fear, which is what the terrorist agenda is all about, or we can face our fear with 5/19, II Corinthians 5:19, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and God has given us this ministry of reconciliation.”

The first thing the angels say to announce the coming of the Christ is, “Fear not.” It’s hard to be a Christian when you are so afraid. Why is my old schoolmate so scared? I don’t know, but I do know he is old. It must be so miserable to live one’s final days in that kind of fear.

I remember him as that regular kid, and I pray for him.

JRMcF


I tweet as yooper1721.

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