Are We Scared...or Comforted?

By Adam Faughn

      A 71-year-old resident of England named Edie Pope recently had enough with reckless driving in her rural neighborhood. She noted that there had been two recent accidents very near her property since a recent change in the speed limit, so she figured out a way to try to combat the issue herself.
      By the road on the edge of her property, Edie placed a scarecrow, but it was not dressed in the way you might think. Instead, she outfitted the mannequin with a yellow outfit, very much like a traffic cop. She even placed a grey object in one of the "hands" that resembles a radar gun. So, as people come near her property, they are led to believe that an officer is checking speeds; all the while, it is just what she is jokingly referring to as a "scare-cop." (1)
      Have you ever been driving and passed what you thought was a police officer checking speeds? How did it make you feel? If we are honest, it probably depended upon how fast you were driving!
      Is the same thing not true of how we react to the knowledge that God is watching over us at all times? For some, that knowledge is almost too frightening or unnerving to bear. They basically hate the idea that God is right there, seeing all that they do. So, they either tune that message out and just live however they wish, or they live nervously all the time, frightened by the prospect of making any misstep.
      However, there is a better way to handle that knowledge, is there not? For those who are law-abiding citizens, the presence of a police officer is typically a reassuring thing. In an infinitely more important way, for those who are striving to live for the Lord, the knowledge that He is present and seeing what we do is a wonderful blessing that touches our soul with comfort.
      Our reaction to the knowledge that God is near and watching us may say more about us than we care to admit. Does that knowledge often frighten and unnerve us, or does it regularly comfort and reassure us? For those who are faithful in their walk with the Lord, there should be far more peace with that knowledge than fear.
      May we live our lives in such a way that the knowledge of His presence fills us far more often with comfort than dread and fear.
 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your  presence? (Psalm 139:7)

- Adam Faughn preaches for the Central Church of Christ in Paducah KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org