Fear No Fear

“He answered, “Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”” (Mark 7:6-8, MEV). Jesus loves us enough to make sure we have clear instruction. It’s fine for Him to say ‘follow me’, but if He isn’t clear about what we are to follow – or at least HOW we’re supposed to follow – then it would be an unjust command. God is NEVER unjust (Deuteronomy 32:4). For us to follow Him we need two things. We need an example to model ourselves after – which He gave us Himself (1 Peter 2:21-25) – and we need some kind of commentary or explanation of that example. The explanation He gave us was Himself as embodied by the Word (John 1:1, 14). We have also been given Holy Spirit, who provides commentary on the Word, explaining it to us so that we understand it (1 Corinthians 2:13). Jesus made sure that we were equipped with Himself so that we are able to understand Him (1 Corinthians 2:16), understand His love (Ephesians 3:18), and enter into His covenant with the Father with understanding and purpose (Romans 10:9) – an understanding that deepens the more we engage with Him through prayer, study, and fasting (Colossians 2:6-7). How often in this world are we tasked to do things but not given the proper documentation. Or worse, the instructions given muddy the waters and make things more complicated instead of less complicated. But Jesus isn’t like that. He is NOT the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Jesus makes sure we are equipped to understand our equipping. Jesus makes sure we are able to comprehend what we’ve been given. And Jesus makes the effort and takes the time to instruct us – right from when we’re children (Isaiah 54:13). Love seeks clarity. Love wants to be understood. Jesus loves us, so He makes sure that we can understand Him.