Hello Family!
Daniel DeLeon here. To say that we miss you is an understatement. You have been in our prayers continuously. I take comfort in this, that, one way or another, we will all see each other again. Let’s pray it is soon! I’ve been asked by Steve to write a Midweek Musing. I’ve enjoyed reading the previous weeks and hope to be able to add some encouragement to the string of pearls that others have already put together. With that, here are some of my thoughts.
Trading Certainty for Assurance
Uncertainty . . . It is a concept that makes many of us extremely uncomfortable. Personally, I confess, uncertainty is not an easy place for me to rest. Yet, that’s where God seems to want me lately. Perhaps the more one suffers from unforeseen loss and chaos, the more fear energizes one’s need to have certainty in life. At least that seems to be my story. Yet, here we are . . . when things seemed stable, unforeseen circumstances have quickly rattled us back into “the shadow of unknowing.” Where budding plans for our future once flowered, weedy questions have now taken root. What will things be like post COVID-19? Will our country ever get back to “normal?” Will our economy hold up under the weight of unemployment? Will all the political and cultural animosity tear this country apart from within? Ultimately, will I, or someone I love, contract a sickness and die?
With all this fresh fear of the unknown, I recently recalled a book I read a few years ago. In his book, “A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living,” a secular French philosopher, Luc Ferry, proposes that every great thinker throughout history arose in their time to deal with the same central, unavoidable question. This question, since the dawn of civilization, has remained the unreachable pinnacle of uncertainty. The question is, “what happens when we die?” Ferry, far from being sympathetic to Christianity, admits that no great thinker or school of thought has dealt with the uncertainty of death better than the teachings of the Bible.
This leads me back to ponder where I began: Uncertainty. Why is it that I am tempted to be afraid? What leads me to need certainty when it comes to the future? Perhaps, times like this remind me that tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us. No matter how much I seek the sunlight of clarity, in a fallen world, the ominous clouds of uncertainty always loom. Should things go south in a hurry, I fear all my hopes and dreams for the future will stretch beyond arm’s length and out of reach. What if I lose my work, income, and home? What if my homeland becomes destabilized and anarchy reigns? Ultimately, what if, through all this, I, or someone I love . . . dies? I guess it’s not just the great thinkers that wrestle with the questions of uncertainty and death. Perhaps we all do. Perhaps it’s this fear that truly motivates all our questions.
So, what are we to do in times like these? Through it all, I was reminded that we can often find comfort in the most unexpected ways. Luc Ferry is absolutely right! Only the teachings of the Bible have addressed our worries in a manner which gives us assurance. According to the Bible, my worst fear, death, has already been defeated. If death is the greatest motivator of fear and the lead cause of my inner turmoil, then seeing death in the light of eternity changes everything. If death is the worst that can happen, then what am I afraid of . . . really? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” With this in mind, I am reminded that, although I lack certainty in times like this, I can have confidence that, through faith, I possess assurance of things to come. With this assurance I am invited to rejoice with Paul and exclaim, “O death, where is your sting? O grave. Where is your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55).
And so, I remain uncertain of my earthly future. In fact, the only thing I am certain of is that uncertainty will persist in this world. Yet, through it all, I’m learning to trade in my need for certainty for the assurance that only Jesus can give. When my time here comes to an end, I’m confident that I will inherit a kingdom with Christ, in a place where fear and death reign no more. I am assured that I will stand face to face before the One whom my heart has sought for so long, the One whom I could only see with eyes of faith. AND THEN . . . I will see Him as He is!!! This assurance is something that I can be confident about in uncertain times. And so can you, dear brother and sister! I wonder what the world would look like if we who have this assurance would walk in confidence through and above fear. Who knows? Perhaps without fear of death, we can show the world how to truly live. Perhaps this is how Christians throughout history have remained steady even in the most unsettling of times. If so, I’ll trade in my need for certainty for the assurance of Christ any day!
Your brother in Christ,
Daniel DeLeon