READING: 2 Kings 6-8, John 9:13-41
Fear so often gets in the way of our following Christ – beginning at times, in fact, before we ever become believers. It’s been a long time since I met Christ, but I still remember some of the fears I experienced in the several months of my wrestling with whether to follow Him. Perhaps I wouldn’t be able to walk away from my sinful habits even as a 13-year-old. I wanted friends, and I was afraid I’d lose friends if I became a Christian. I knew I didn’t know the answers to any Bible question somebody might ask me, and I didn’t want to be embarrassed. Further, I was afraid I’d have to give up too much to follow Jesus. All these fears might seem strange for a young teenager, but they were real to me.
Fear is part of today’s New Testament reading as well. When the religious leaders asked questions of the healed blind man’s parents, they avoided answering some of them. They were willing to admit that the man was their son. that he was born blind, and that he could now see. They weren’t willing, though, to say that Jesus was the one who healed their son—because, according to John, “they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue” (John 9:22). Their fear of the potential repercussions if they spoke of Jesus kept them from continuing the conversation; instead, they told the religious leaders to talk directly to their son.
How grateful I am today that the Lord ultimately trumped my fears with His grace! He loved me more deeply and pursued me more passionately than I could cling tightly to my fears. How can I not speak of Him?
PRAYER: “Father, thank You that Your love overwhelmed my fears.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Review and catch-up day
