Today I read the story in Daniel (3) about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego getting thrown into the fiery furnace and it struck me as a pretty damn good reason not to fear anything. I actually got comfort in the idea of fearing the Lord... it became clear to me that there really is no reason to fear anyone else because He is so much greater. It's much better to obey Him and come out of this world unscorched than to disobey Him out of fear for the world.
It really is a powerful story--King Neb turns the furnace up 7x the regular heat--the beast was so hot that it killed the guards that threw the guys in just because they were standing close enough. I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this world does get pretty viscious..." But the three Jew-migos didn't even have the smell of fire on them when the "man who looked like the son of the gods" walked them out of that thing. What a great picture.
It's a picture of Hell, really. Stand too close and you're a goner. But even the threat of that instant death is no separation from the Deliverance of Jesus.
Maybe I can get over my allergy to the Old Testament if I look at it more as a photo album of what God does and what His power looks like... Of what Jesus looks like. It's full of great pictures of these things. Some of the pictures, though, I'll admit--I just don't understand. Yet. I don't understand them yet.
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