One night my wife asked me a probing question, “what would you do if you weren’t afraid?” On the surface it seemed elementary. But underneath I found complexity. I thought on it for a little while. My response? At that time it was to write a book on a text of scripture that was particularly gripping and revelatory to me. When I think about it, it still is. Maybe in a way these letters are me dipping my toes in the water of the fear that keeps me back from actually writing that book.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Being released from a fear is an intoxicating feeling. It is freeing. I was once the little kid who waited in line for the roller coaster, got in the seat, cried and screamed and then had to be chaperoned by my parents while we waited for everyone to get off the ride. I was scared. But as I grew, I was liberated from that fear and released into the fun experience of riding roller coasters.
I think one of my all time favorite passages of scripture to consider during advent is in the letter to the Hebrews. In chapter two the writer says this,
“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT).
Jesus came to release you of a fear. Not a fear of roller coasters or writing a book, but the fear of dying. You and I aren’t only afraid of dying, death is our master before Christmas. We are enslaved and shackled to the fear of dying. And Jesus came to emancipate us from our bondage.
How do you know if you are afraid of dying? Well, you avoid the thought of it. You deny it’s probability. When the train of the death roller coaster pulls up and it is your turn to think about it, you scream and cry - both internally and externally. You may also try to live your life in a bubble. Or, you may try and milk life for all that it’s worth because this is it - yolo. “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19).
What if you were not afraid of dying? What would you do? Who would you be? What would you discover that you are missing out on?
The Son of God had to come and put on flesh.
So he could die.
So he could break the power of the devil.
The power of death.
So he could set you free.
From the bondage of the fear of death.
Oh, and it gets even better. Not only are you unchained and released to enjoy this life and to look forward to the never-ending delight of the new life beyond death, you and I get to taunt death right here and now. We look in the face of our last chapter and we say “O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). It is as if we are saying, “Death, you’re so cute. You really are trying hard to win this thing. But you are a complete loser.”
I want to go to the funeral of a woman or man who lived their days like that. Can you imagine?
What would you do in that freedom? Who would you be? What if we began leveraging our death?
The writer said it was “Only in this way” of Jesus coming into the world as a man, like me and like you, that he could deliver you from this fear. He didn’t create things to be this way, he wants you free. Free to enjoy him and his world as he intended it. And he was willing to suffer, anticipate death, endure a slow death, and finally stop breathing. For you. He didn’t like death. It’s not as though he came wielding the power at his disposal as creator and sustainer of the universe and went through the process of dying easily and happily. He emptied himself of that reality (Philippians 2:6-7). He sweat blood thinking about it. He cried out to the Father that he would rather not go through it (Matthew 26:39).
And I would rather not go through it either. I hate death. But I do not fear it. I did. But he set me free from that oppression. That’s what the fear of death is - oppressive.
What if you weren’t afraid?
The chains are broken. The prison door is wide open.
Run. Run into the open fields of freedom that Jesus purchased for you and turn death on its head and leverage it to write a better story, to live a more dignified, delightful and meaningful life.
Let’s give an angel of the Lord the last words,
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).
Merry Christmas!