Weekend Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Not Afraid - Fear of Death
READ: I John 4:11-21
THINK: Have you ever heard of St. Anthony of Egypt? Anthony, who lived in the 3rd and 4th centuries, is widely considered to be the person who popularized Christian monasticism. Anthony spent years on end living as a hermit in the desert – by choice. He had extraordinarily little interaction with other people, often limited to supporters tossing food over a wall to him, so that he never actually saw them. By denying himself normal social interaction and material comforts, Anthony sought purification and closeness to God.
In measured doses, there is probably something helpful to ‘alone time’; it seemed to work for Anthony. But God did not create us to spend our entire lives as hermits, living in isolation from those around us. We are meant to be part of a community, loving others and accepting love in return.
Pastor Ben spoke of the importance of this the second week of the Not Afraid Series - on the topic of going ‘all in’ as kingdom builders. Making this kind of commitment, he taught us, requires humility, risk and investment. Building truly loving relationships with others touches on all three. We are humbled when we accept love extended to us by our fellow Christ-followers and rely on them to help us. We risk rejection and pain when we reach out in love to those around us. And the investment of time and effort required to build healthy Christian relationships is huge. But overcoming our fear – going all in – means following God’s command to love our brother and sister (I John 4:21).
There is an interesting footnote to the story of St. Anthony. His ascetic life attracted followers, who moved out to the desert to take up his way of life. By the time he died, as reported by a biographer, the area around him was ‘a city’, a veritable community of hermits.
DO: Have you been withdrawing from some relationship with a fellow Christian recently? Perhaps you’ve stopped attending a growth group, or delayed too long to return a dinner invitation. Fix it today. Reconnect with your Christian family.
PRAY: Lord God, deep down, I know I need fellow Christians to support me. I’m not sure why they would need me, but I guess they do. Still, fear tempts me to avoid reaching out. Help me overcome the fear. I want to go all in, loving others as you have instructed me to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.