SHARE | MAGAZINE
Volume 5 - Issue 2
Fear , what is fear ? According to the Oxford Online Dictionary , fear is “ an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous , painful , or bad that is happening or might happen :” ( Oxford online dictionary ). We all experience it at one time or another . There is healthy fear that is designed to keep us safe from real danger like avoiding an oncoming vehicle . There is also unhealthy fear or phobia that is triggered because of an associated traumatic experience one might have had in the past . It appears irrational but is very real to the person with the phobia . For example a fear of rain or cats .
Contemporary life is increasingly filled with fear both real and imagined as we immerse ourselves increasingly into a virtual reality we struggle to discern between reality and fantasy , fact and fiction , lies and truth . The media does a fantastic job of intensifying people ’ s fear with fear mongering in its reporting and we now have “ fake news ” to add to the list of silent terrors out there . So then who do we trust ? Who is a terrorist ? What is safe to eat ? Where can we live in peace ? Will our banks and institutions defraud us ? Is our privacy being invaded by hackers ? Oh , so much to fear !
HELLO FEAR ! EDITORIAL
What are we really afraid of ? Ultimately of death . We have good reason to fear death it is the unknown and we love life as we know it . However , Christians believe that this life is transient it is not final there was an abundant / eternal life that was formerly ours , which we lost when our fore parents Adam and Eve fell from God ’ s grace through disobedience , that will be restored to us through Jesus Christ . We look forward to eternal life after death .
Sin , entered the world and time began counting down and life began degenerating until the time set for our judgement . If we do not have this hope then we cannot look fear in the face and say , “ hello fear ”. Without the assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ , we cannot free fall in life , contentedly trusting God to catch us and sustain us throughout adversity and challenges . Jesus Christ is the believer ’ s hope in turbulent times .
A fearless future In Genesis , who planted the tree , in the middle of the garden of Eden , from which God told Adam not to eat ? You could not miss it but if eating of this tree meant sure death wouldn ’ t it be best to remove it ? No tree , no temptation , simple ! It would be even better to not plant it there in the first place . Whoever planted this tree and in such a precarious
About Us
SHARE MAGAZINE is a FREE Christian quarterly that deals with challenging Christian topics that have been mostly ignored or left unanswered . The magazine includes written articles , poems and thoughts etc . Read our online version at www . TheShareMagazine . com where you can go to our blog to discuss articles or order a printed version . If you would like to submit articles , join our writers group , or to get involved in any other way kindly email us . SHARE MAGAZINE is produced by Select Arrow , the publishing arm of United In Christ charity number 1140448 .
Disclaimer
Throughout this magazine the editor & contributors seek to present a balanced and accurate view of Scripture ’ s teaching . We are all on a journey of studying and understanding God ’ s Word . Because of this , all we can offer is as balanced an understanding as the Holy Spirit has offered us at this time . The views or opinions represented in this publication are personal to each of our contributors and may not fully represent those of any other contributor or editor .
Scriptures quoted are from the Contemporary English Version ( CEV ) unless otherwise stated .
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4 | SHARE | MAGAZINE April - June 2017