Fear Leading to Faith

At 40, he was chosen to be a spy.  His sole job was to scout the enemy, determine their strengths, calculate their weaknesses, and report back his decision whether to begin a military strike.  His band of brothers consisted of 11 other men who had lived in the same world as he, suffered the same humiliation in slavery, and experienced the same miraculous deliverance into freedom.   

Upon crossing into enemy territory, he and another spy, later to become his greatest ally, fellow leader, and lifelong friend, saw nothing but the bounty they had been promised.  The residents were healthy and strong, the land fertile and rich, the cattle well-fed, and the harvest was beyond anything they had seen before, seeming like something from a starving child's dreamworld.  

He could taste the victory, and feel himself building a home where he could settle with his family, and watch his children grow, bearing grandchildren who would play in the green grass and fertile fields.  Yet as soon as the warmth and hope of this vision filled his heart, it was torn away by fear, fear from his fellow spies.  

Although both he and the men had been freed from oppression, the other men still lived as slaves.  Upon seeing the riches of the land, they could feel the slavemaster whip their backs, driving them to produce for the comfort of these wealthy few, and they fled, convincing their people to forgo the blessings of a promised land for the imagined safety of a nomadic existence.  

The majority got their wish, and were sentenced to forty years of desert living, while just over the horizon, just over that river to the west, the reason for their freedom lay out of reach.  

Not till 40 years later, after that fearful band of spies had been buried in the sands, did Caleb and his new commander Joshua, enter that Promised Land.  At 80, he was just as vigorous as the former spy of his middle age.  For the next 5 years he fought alongside his friend Joshua as they conquered the land of milk and honey, then at the ripe old age of 85 he claimed his inheritance with one final battle against the giants of the land.  


St. Ambrose commenting on the faith of Caleb (and the fear of the other spies) says:

"he preferred glory to safety; the worse part safety to virtue.  The Divine judgment approved those who thought virtue was above what is useful while it condemned those who preferred what seemed more in accordance with safety than with what is virtuous." 

A commentator summarizes this with the following exhortation:

"God rewards those who prefer the virtue of obedience over the safety of inaction." 

Fear may be an indicator toward obedience.  God does not call us to comfort but a cross. Fear is the natural reaction to our own crucifixion, yet on the other side is the Promised Land.  


What is risky about the virtuous life?  What scares you about obedience?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jephthah's Daughter

Image
In Judges, there is a disturbing story in the midst of a heroic and praiseworthy leader.  This man, Jephthah, was an illegitimate child, was rejected by his brothers, excommunicated from the presence of his clan, and forced to live in a land of foreigners.   In contrast to the judges surrounding his story, he did not have multiple wives and prolific numbers of children, as if to create a ruling dynasty memorializing his own heroism.  Jephthah did not even have a son who would carry on his name, only a daughter, a daughter who appears precious to his very soul. Out of fear from invading armies, his brothers called him back from the exile they imposed upon him to lead them into victory over their enemies.  Jephthah's only condition was future acceptance and continued leadership of his clan.  They agreed.   Jephthah cries to God for victory and out of zeal or desperation makes a vow to God, unthinkable to modern ears.  If victorious, he will ...
Read more

Is Theistic Evolution Orthodox?

Image
Everyday Theology or Speculative Theology? Eagle River Institute, I’m disappointed.  Your institute has produced consistent edifying lectures for the Orthodox Christian. Yet, you allow someone to present on Evolution as if this is the only sensible position for an Orthodox Christian.  It is not! The presentation is upsetting. Maybe you found the arguments edifying for the average Orthodox Christian, but please qualify it. This is a historical aberration and deserves to be contrasted in the light of the historic Christian position. This article stands as a counterpoint to the theistic evolutionary position held by Dr. Gayle Woloschak in her presentation at the Eagle River Institute in August. There are more episodes to come, and depending on their content, I may put together another response. First of all, I am not judging this person’s Christian faith and commitment to Christ and Orthodoxy.  I am not judging her piety or personal holiness. I am judging her ...
Read more

The Problem of Orthodox Culture

Over the past months several Orthodox writers have taken up the topic of Orthodox culture and whether we can create one in this country.  Much of the writing flows out the pens of artists, so I am sure that this is a desire longing for an ethos where there is a richness of art seen in places like old Russia with majestic architecture, beautiful music and haunting works of literature.  I long for this too. What is the critical mass of people for such a culture to emerge?  Evangelicals have had this mass in America for some time, but only recently is there a serious arts movement bubbling up.  Rather than a culture of high art, I propose we are looking for community, and this is the base where we must start. The magnet that draws Americans into the Evangelical world, robust Catholic life, and even stranger American movements such as Mormonism is not theology, but community.  This is a place where you can enter and every part of your life is infected ...
Read more