There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.
I get scared easily, and when I do, I often jump up in response to the shock. Cameron is the opposite; he isn’t easily fazed at all.
Sometimes I don’t realise he’s behind a door when I open it, or I don’t hear him coming, and suddenly he’s standing beside me. That usually makes me jump, and he always asks, “Why do you get scared? You know I’m in the house, right?”🤷🏻♂️
Jesus asked his disciples a similar question: “Why are you afraid?”
While they are on a boat and a storm breaks out, the disciples panic:
“He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” – Matthew 8:26 NIV
Similarly, Jesus asks Peter: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:31 NKJV), after he stepped out of the boat to come to Jesus, but then suddenly lost faith and began sinking.
When Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid?” or “Why did you doubt?”, those are not questions of reproach like those of a disappointed teacher, but more questions of loving concern, like when Cameron asks me, “Why did you feel afraid? You know I am here, right?”
The expression ‘you of little faith’ is used five times by Jesus, but only towards His disciples. Jesus doesn’t go around telling all the sick people He encounters, and all those who come to Him for a miracle, ‘you of little faith!’
This is a term reserved for those closest to Him, those who have seen His faithfulness over and over again, those who know His love first-hand. It wasn’t a reprimand. Jesus wasn’t saying, “You are required to have great faith to be worthy of my presence.”
No, this was a sweet reminder for His disciples: “I am here with you; there is no need to be afraid.”
Jesus is saying the same to you!
