Max Lucado's Fearless and My Thoughts on being a MOM

Max writes, "The more insecure we feel, the meaner we become. We growl and bare our fangs. Why? Because we are bad? In part. But also because we feel cornered.


Martin Niemoller documents an extreme example of this. He was a German pastor who took a heroic stand against Adolf Hitler. When he first met the dictator in 1933, Niemoller stood at the back of the room and listened. Later, when his wife asked him what he'd learned, he said, "I discovered that Herr Hitler is a terribly frightened man." Fear releases the tyrant within.

It also deadens our recall. The disciples had reason to trust Jesus. By now they'd seen him "healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people" (Matt 4:23)...heal a leper...saw demons scatter like bats out of a cave.


Shouldn't someone mention Jesus' track record or review his resume? do they remember the accomplishments of Christ? They may not. Fear creates a form of spiritual amnesia. It dulls our miracle memory. IT makes us forget what Jesus has done and how good God is.


And fear feels dreadful. It sucks the life out of the soul, curls us into an embryonic state, and drains us dry of contentment. We become abandoned barns, rickety and tilting from the winds, a place where humanity used to eat, thrive, and find warmth- no longer. When fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god. When safety becomes our god, we worship the risk-free life. Can the safety lover do anything great? Can the risk-adverse accomplish noble deeds? For God? For others? No. The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return. The fear-filled cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky? The worship of safety emasuclates greatness. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear.


His most common command emerges from the "fear not" genre. The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to "not be afraid" or "not fear" or "have courage" or "take heart" or "be of good cheer." The second most common command , to love God and neighbor, appears only eight occasions. If the quantity is any indicator, Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement he made more than any other was this: Don't be afraid."

So, by now you are probably already getting my thoughts on being a Mom - it requires being Fearless. "The more insecure we feel, the meaner we become. We growl and bare our fangs." We've heard lots of warnings - do NOT come between a mother bear and her cubs. Well, we human mothers are not much different. If we sense there is something threatening our children - we will "release the tyrannt within" to defend, but unless the situation is life threatening - we must always temper our response to that threat keeping in mind we are setting an example AND that threat more than likely - is also someone else's child - grown up or not.

To with stand the storms of life, the most fearless Mom will remember what Jesus has done for her and how good God is in any given situation, so that they do not let fear "suck the life out of the soul", making her into an "abandoned barn, rickety and tilting from the winds" in the storms in her life, "where humanity used to eat, thrive, and find warmth" because the opposite is necessary to bring her children into adulthood where they can withstand the storms of life, eat, thrive, and find warmth! And love deeply.

As mothers, we must reject making fear our god - worshipping the risk-free life. There is nothing risk-free about raising children. There are the risks of falling down when they first start to walk, scrapes and bruises learning to ride a bike, learning to drive, going off to college OR WAR!!

"The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky. The worship of safety emasculates greatness." To raise children to adulthood - mothers must have a vision of greatness - otherwise, you will just sit back in your arm chair - safely.

Mothers understand (whether they know Christ or not) His imperatives. At night when she tucks her child in she"ll say, "do not be afraid" (there's nothing under the bed), "have courage" (just swing the bat when the ball comes across the plate),or "be of good cheer" (have fun tonight, but drive carefully).

If there is one thing a Mom is - it's Fearless. Happy Mother's Day - you Fearless Warrior!

May God Bless you !
Denise