Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Now these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah of Abital; the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife: six were born to him in Hebron; and he reigned there seven years and six months. He reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem; and these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four, by Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel; and Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. All these were the sons of David, in addition to the sons of the concubines; and Tamar was their sister.”
(1 Chronicles 3:1-9)

“Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.” For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.””
(Luke 5:1-10)

David’s whole family is laid out. All the future squabbles, the issues, the rebellions, it’s all there. Sadly, the one real thing that David learned in life, he was unable to pass on. David learned about the nature of God. He saw who God was, and that knowledge armed him with repentance. Other than one time, David’s instinctive actions illustrated the first step in receiving God’s mercy—admitting your own inadequacies rather than trying to hide them. Whenever David failed to trust in God, the knowledge of God’s holiness that He held so dear brought him face to face with his own frailty. The result was a desire to bridge the gap. To learn God’s moral character on the issue, embrace it, and change his own thinking until it aligned with God’s. David spent a lifetime being confronted with his humanity and responding by not avoiding the consequences, but leaning on God through the consequences as he changed his thinking so that he would never repeat the rebellion again. David was QUICK to repent (except in one instance) because he nurtured his relationship with God and was frequently seeking the Lord’s presence.

Peter listened to Jesus. He heard the teaching. Then he was confronted with the supernatural authority Jesus possessed. Faced with a physical miracle that went against everything he knew about his trade, Peter was forced to realize that every word Jesus had spoken carried that same authority. Peter came face to face with the holiness of God’s nature, and he couldn’t handle it. He collapsed in the face of his own inadequacy. Instead of being condemned by his sins, Peter acknowledged his natural limitations and threw himself on the mercies of God. God’s grace was up to the challenge. Jesus did NOT condemn Peter, but folded him into His mission. Into His calling. He made Peter’s life about His own life. Jesus saw Peter’s potential and didn’t let Peter’s frailty stand in the way of it.

Summary

God is HOLY. God is ABOVE us. It is normal to see that and react by throwing ourselves on His mercy. It is normal to see how we fall short. But we are not meant to WALLOW there. God had gone out of His way to make sure that we are equipped, empowered, and able to stand face to face with Him in Jesus – where we receive HIS holiness and HIS worthiness as our own (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we have the opportunity to be corrected, we should rejoice and embrace it. Not because we are poor sinners. But because God’s heart for mercy and reconciliation should be ours. Because repentance means getting to align with God in an area of our lives and making His thinking our thinking. It means that every day, in any given way, we have the chance to get closer and closer to Him by choosing to enter into His Way, change our thinking, and embrace His moral character. Repentance isn’t one and done. It is a journey of consistently getting closer to God by humbly submitting to His righteousness, holiness, authority, and nature. To know His heart and make His desires, our desires. Not abusing His mercy, but using it to transform ourselves bit by bit, piece by piece, into Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).