July 12, 2026
Have you ever been scared of something? What were you afraid of? As children, we’re all sometimes afraid. Was there anything that helped you not to be afraid? Maybe there have been times when you lie in bed at night, and you think you see something that looks a little scary or strange, and so you call out to Dad or Mum, who comes into your room and turns on the light, only for you to see that it was a pair of pants or a wrinkly shirt or something hanging over a chair. You were afraid of something that couldn’t hurt you at all, but it sure felt good to have Dad or Mum show you that you had nothing to fear.
In our Second Reading from today, from the Book of Romans, we hear about not falling back into fear. Falling back into fear would be like being afraid of something, finding out it’s just a wrinkly shirt, and then climbing back into bed and being afraid all over again. That wouldn’t make sense, would it?
The thing our Bible reading says people are afraid of is punishment for breaking God’s Law. God’s Law is where God tells us what’s right and what’s wrong, like the Ten Commandments. God’s Law tells us that if we hurt someone or hurt someone’s feelings, that’s a sin, and we should be punished for that. Or if we take something that doesn’t belong to us, that’s a sin, and we should be punished for that. Or if we say naughty things to our parents, that’s a sin, and we should be punished for it. If we think about all the times we sin, we could be very much afraid, because God could punish us for all those things.
But our Bible reading reminds us that we are God’s children. That means God is our Father, the one who shows us we have nothing to fear. He sent Jesus to die for our sins, so we don’t have to go through life always afraid that God is going to punish us. We do sin, but when we do, we can call out to our Father in heaven and tell him we’re afraid of what we’ve done. God will always still love us and forgive us and take care of us because of Jesus dying for us. No matter what sin, He has made us His children, and we don’t have to be afraid!
Dear God, thank You for listening to me when I am afraid. Always remind me that You love me and will never let me go! Amen.