The Bungee Cord. 2-6-23

Hello,

Beware of Dog!

That is a sign that I have not enjoyed seeing when making a pastoral visit. Over the years when I have seen such a sign and a large drooling Chow Chow chained to the post holding the handrail, there has been significant enough fear rumbling through me that I have not gotten out of my car. In such cases, I have honked in hopes of alerting the visit-ee (pre-cell phone days), or I have pulled out my phone and called the visit-ee and have asked if they could do something with the dog. If the dog remained, I would leave, but if the dog was removed from my path, I would venture into the house with trepidation.

Sometimes the owner would come out of the house and wave me in saying, “Oh, he won’t hurt you.” When that happened, I still stayed in the safety of my can and explained that those words did not calm my fears. One time, the owner brought the dog inside, a black Chow Chow, and then came out and said, “Come on in.” Which I did, but when I sat down on the sofa, it came bounding out of the kitchen with death in its eyes (or at least that is what I saw in its eyes). Fortunately, it did not make a meal of me, but let me say that my visit was quick and when I left it was clear to everyone that my anti-perspirant had not overcome my fears.

Fear is a powerful thing. It can keep us from doing things. It can keep us from going places. It can keep us in line. But the problem with fear is that its power is not invincible. Throw a big juicy steak at the dog, and the dog no longer has a consuming interest in you. Get an armored vehicle and arm yourself, and the dog will become no more vicious than a gnat. Put a sedative in its food and you can stroll right up to the house as if the dog isn’t even there. Fear loses its power when fear is gone.

That is one reason why our prisons are filled to overflowing. That is one reason why kids experiment with drugs. That is one reason why there are so many unwanted pregnancies. That is one reason why people find themselves swallowed up in debt. And that is one reason why, I believe, that many people have no interest in Christianity.

Consider what most people believe the Christian message is. I think that most would say that the Christian message is, “You have got to believe in Jesus if you want to be saved.” Or, “You have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior if you want to go to heaven.” Or maybe a little more harshly put, “Turn or burn!” In my ears, these things are fear driven words, because they all imply, “And if you don’t, you better look out.” Much akin to the sign, “Beware of Dog!”

But what happens when life hits you so hard that you say, “I can’t believe in a god who would let this happen to me!”? What happens when you find yourself on top of the world, drunk with success and you say, “I don’t need a savior.”? What happens when you are cruising through life in a hypnotic daze and you fall asleep at the wheel and find yourself plunging over a cliff of despair, and you say, “There’s no god.” Do you burn?

When I read the entirety of the Bible, which is well capsulated in these verses from the book of John, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’ (3:16,17), I do not see a God who has sent Jesus to scare us out of hell, but instead I see a God who has sent his Son, Jesus, to love us into heaven. Belief in Jesus is not meant to be driven by fear, but rather to be the result of being overwhelmed in love.

Apparently, God knows the inadequate power of fear: other things are more powerful, and fear’s power always wanes. That is why, when it comes to God relationship with you and me, God has chosen the power of divine love: love that nothing can overcome and separate us from God (Romans , and love that never ends (1 Corinthians 13).

The world is full of fierce, salivating dogs, but God is not one of them, God is the Good Shepherd who has laid down his life for his sheep, you and me, and God is not about to let that death be in vain as he takes hold of us with a unconditional embrace saying, “Fear not, I’ve got you.”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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