Fear?

John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb. (ASV)

We, Christians, have just celebrated the resurrection of our LORD and it is my prayer that we would learn a few of the many lessons that are there to be taught in His resurrection. One of the most commonly needed and avoided is on fear. Before Jesus departed and before He was cruelly ailed to the cross, Jesus, who is God in the flesh of a man, gave a command to His followers:
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. (ASV)

And yet, in spite of this I see fear manifested in the Brethren all the time. Folks, inside the Church Family speak constantly on matters such as where will I ever get enough money to take care of my wife and my children, what with the cost of gas and it causing everything to cost more but we aren't getting any raises in our pay?

And honestly, this is just the sort of thing our LORD was talking about. So, do we have the faith of Mary or of Paul and John? These men and women ha held tightly to the belief that Jesus was Who He said He was, they believed He was God. They also knew from attending services that God was eternal and yet Mary, Peter and John went to the tomb to begin attending, properly, to the dead body of God.

When Mary found the tomb empty, she went immediately to the men to tell them what she had seen and what she had concluded. When John out-ran Peter he was not sure of what to do next and Peter, old foot in the mouth Peter ran right past John to begin processing what he had been taught by Jesus in the light of the circumstances. But then it appears that te men left Mary and maybe the other women there alone as it seems to me that they walked back to their house, discussing what had happened and how it fit with what Jesus had taught them.

But then Mary, bless her sweet ad loving heart stood there weeping until Jesus spoke to her. As soon as Jesus dismissed her, she went, as fast as she could run to inform the e of what had happened and that she had spoken to and had touched Jesus! Mary knew that Jesus had been murdered on the cross and that the same fate was probably her destiny, after all the Disciples were huddled in the upper room with the doors and windows bared trying to figure what they should do when they would hear those Roman boots stomping out the cadence as they would come to arrest, force them into a trial ad then execute them, just as they had done to the LORD!

So I ask you, and I do not need the answer... you do, who have you told today? And. If you, truly, believe, why are you living with fear? And finally... who besides Satan is your fearful silence pleasing?