Our Neighbors- the Confused and Afraid
The world can be a very unpredictable and frightening place. It seems like it is getting more and more violent with each passing day.
It is hard to feel safe anywhere when there are shootings in schools, movie theaters, airports, and malls. Not only that, it can be hard to know what is true. Everyone has his or her own angle, and it can get confusing about what to believe and what to do.
Advertisers or leaders know that people are more easily persuaded when they are afraid or confused, and so they try to make us believe that they know the answer, the fix to our fears.
The best way to escape fear and confusion is finding our identity in Jesus Christ. This doesn’t stop bad things from happening, but we are able to find joy and peace in an often terrifying world.
Jesus is the only truth, the only safety. He is our strong tower, and as Proverbs says, “the righteous run into it and are safe.”
What about our neighbors, though, who are afraid and confused because they don’t have Christ? Well, Proverbs also says, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”
What is our good word? The love of Jesus Christ! We must share Him with our frightened or confused neighbors, and so reach our world.
“The best way to escape fear and confusion is finding our identity in Jesus Christ.”
Proverbs 12:25
“Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”