REAL FEAR

Happy Halloween! Or Happy Harvest. Or happy day before the Christmas season unofficially begins. I have friends that decorate their tree…tonight! Sigh…pass the Reese’s.

But before the orange and black turns to red and green, it is only appropriate to reflect on our fear. Well, I guess that should be plural. Spiders, ya know. And high places. And final exams. Do you still have that nightmare? You forgot to study. Your #2 pencil is broken. And you’re wearing pajamas. Sigh…pass the Snickers.

But seriously, real fear is no laughing matter. Not like the “fake ghosts” we saw today when we were taking a walk through the neighborhood with our grandkids. I’m glad, at three years old, they can tell the difference. Here’s what I said in the first book:

It’s time to call in Scooby Doo and his team in the Mystery Machine. When the lead dog and his gang of sleuths piled out of their green van it was monsters and ghouls beware! Sure, the villains had them on the run in the beginning, but it always ended up with the great unveiling and the suddenly not so menacing bad guy in the creepy costume. “And let’s see who it is . . . Mr. Murphy!” And they always would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for “you meddling kids!” Take him away, sheriff. Another mystery solved and another castle no longer haunted.

But then we grow up, only to realize, as in later episodes when Scooby and Shaggy hit the big screen, sometimes the monsters are real. Right? Then it’s not so fun anymore. It’s a sad day when we finally put down our magnifying glass, only to pick up some not so childish fears. These days they call it adulting. We’re now old enough to realize sometimes there really is danger around the next bend. We’re experienced enough to know our terror is sometimes justified. We’ve seen enough of life to know it really can be a horror show with a bad ending. And we’ve read enough of Scripture to know we have a very real adversary who is not wearing a costume! Well, sometimes he does.

Sorry, it got a little dark there. But you all know what I’m talking about. So what’s the answer for everything that goes bump in the night? More importantly, what’s the answer when it also bumps during the day? As always, the answer is who. And what is his answer to all that scares us, all the ails us, and all that so easily confuses us? Childlike.

When tonight is over, we can put away our fake ghosts, fake bones, and fake tombstones. We can also trade our horror genre (not recommended) for Hallmark Christmas movies (sorta recommended). But unfortunately, we can’t put away our real fears without some help. For the record, Jesus isn’t taking tonight off, and his up close and personal help is certainly not limited to the upcoming Advent Season where we celebrate his incarnation.

There’s a reason why we’re told not to be afraid some 365 times in Scripture. One for each day. But for those of us who have a continual current of anxiety buzzing just under the surface of our life (and often above it), we need a few more reminders. Living Childlike isn’t just a catchy platitude. It means living in continual dependence. And like our favorite cartoon, we must never outgrow it!  Seriously. Jesus is with us. In the daytime and especially at night. On the mountaintop and especially in the valley. Every season. Every holiday. Every moment. Buzzing or not.

Pass the Twix.

JAY