“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yeat perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

The events of this month has really caused me to do a lot of deep thinking about multiple things. The revolving thought has been around the thought of actually leaving this world. I mean, lets be honest, it is a rational human emotion to be fearful when contemplating the end of your journey on Earth. I mean, I hear of people having conversations with those who have moved on to the other life, but for me, I have not had that, which means I have no logical placement or true understanding of what is next. It is like starting a new job, you know you are going to be doing something different, you have made the conscience efforts to move forward, but you don’t really know what you are in for. Classically called the fear of the unknown.

So, here I am, wrestling with my own faith. I am sure this is normal, at least I hope so. Then I happened to read something today that kind of put things into perspective for me. I recommend it.

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/saved-by-christ-not-by-rules

Again, the timeliness of God’s spirit is always impeccable. After reading this, I had a different thought in mind. Was I to looking at my faith from a stickily rule based fashion? I did not think that I was at all, until really reading this article. I am definitely not on the completely secular side of this, but I have a new perspective on my goal. I have always heard of the relationship that I was supposed to be pursing with God, but this kind of made me look at it a little differently, and kind of understand why people shy away from the Catholic faith, and religion in general sometimes.

I had a legitimate fear when I made the decision to become Catholic. Labels follow with that. Major ones, and trust me, when you say you are Catholic to someone for the first time, some of them look at you like you are in a cult. Well, I can understand that, we do have lots of traditions that we follow. It is intimidating in Mass the first time, especially if you have had zero exposure to it. It is kind of like a Lutheran going to a Baptist Revival… it is a little awkward. And that is just it, the fear of being awkward keeps people from trying to understand the point of view or keeps people away from the experiences.

I can run over one hundred different scenarios in my head where fear could be involved. I am just surprised to see how much of an impact it has on people. It is talked about numerous times in Bible. I think we can contribute it to the root of just about everything that we can not understand. It brings out some of the worst things in people. The fear of what we do not know or understand. It is what keeps people from seeing the full potential. It was that same fear that kept me from writing and sharing my stories. That same fear that locked me inside myself for years, because I was afraid that everyone would look at me differently. That same fear that keeps us from having a full relationship with God. The only way to get around that fear is to trust in the truth, and pray for the things holding you back to be moved out of the way. The only way to true understanding not to fear the unknown but trust Jesus to show you the path to be on.