Lost Season 1 Episode 1 & 2

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." - St. John (1 John 4:18)

“So I just made a choice. I’d let the fear in. Let it take over. Let it do its thing. But only for five seconds. That’s all I was gonna give it.� - Dr. Jack Shephard

I’m finding that the older I get the more fearful I am. I just went on a father son campout and we were at a swimming hole where there was a rope swing with a 20 ft. drop. When I was younger I had no fear about doing anything like that so I climbed the rocks to the rope swing and was ready to jump only…there was that 20 ft jump. Not to mention my wife, kids, job, mortgage, etc.

Finally, just like Jack, I got over the fear and just jumped. It was exhilarating and I did it at least three more times…each time the fear was less. I ended up surviving all of those jumps no problem and had bragging rights along with the admiration of my young son Joshua.

I’m glad I didn’t give in to that fear, which is why the scene in Pilot 1 where Jack and Kate talk about fear "MovedMe" so deeply. Jack was cut, presumably from his fall from the plane into a bamboo grove, and he asked Kate to stitch him up. Kate can’t understand why he seems so calm…so unafraid. That’s when he goes into the story of his first surgery, when he realized fear is a choice.

After that story you could almost see Kate becomes stronger…even more poignant later in the season when we find out more about her. She sews Jack up and you can tell there is a connection. Later, when the chips are down and it looks like Jack has been attacked by the “monster� Kate chooses to not give in to fear and goes after him. It’s another great scene where Kate counts for five seconds as Jack taught her and then goes after him.

I’ve been learning that fear and its cousin inaction are choices. Just like that jump in the swimming hole…I could have given in to fear and climbed down instead of jumping. When my wife is struggling through something and I’m afraid I won’t have the answers for her…I could give in to fear and not engage in the conversation. When I’m given a big assignment at work and I worry that I won’t be able to get it done right…I could give in to fear and procrastinate.

But I’m learning these days to only give fear a few seconds in my life and then choose to give it no more time. Even more helpful is knowing what St. John said, “perfect love drives out fear.� Loving my wife helps drive out the fear of engaging with her and pushes me to pray and talk her through her struggles. Loving my job, and the fact they pay me good money to do what I do, drives out the fear that I’ll do it wrong and helps me to work hard and do my best.

So I encourage you not to let fear drive you in the important moments of life…let love drive you instead. Especially the perfect love that only God through his son Jesus can give.

*Did you connect with this review? Come join us in discussing it at the Hollywood Jesus Forum in the DVD section. Or if you are viewing this on CoachZ’s blog leave a comment!