Jesse A. Schroeder

When we face death, either in ourselves or the death of someone we love, fear is a common first response. There is fear of the unknown, of change, and just a general fear of dying. In response, many people turn to faith. There is faith in the afterlife, faith in our family, a general faith in"God." This faith is supposed to allay our fears. Faith counters fear.

However, if we are honest, our faith waivers and we still feel afraid. This is because faith comes from within ourselves, as does our fears. Thus, when faced with death, we engage in an internalvstrugglebof our faith vs our fears. I think that faith is strong and often wins, but I also think pitting faith against our fears is unfair. And that is because within faith is always an element of the unknown. We have faith in something beyond ourselves, something bigger and more powerful. We have faith in God, but to be honest we can't see or touch God, and often his ways are a mystery to us. There is always an "unknown" within faith.

One of my favorite lines in Scripture is in 1 John, where the author writes, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear." Love vs fear. Perfect love drives out fear, and fear can't win the battle against love.

In contrast to the "unknown" and "internal" aspects of faith, love is very known, very personal. And it is external. We feel and know the love of our family and our friends. We know what love looks like and how we feel when we are loved. It is not something we develop in ourselves, but is received, welcomed, and cherished. And there is no greater love than the Divine embrace - God's love, shown to us in a thousand little graces every day. We know this love, this love that is not of ourselves but is so familiar and so comforting it is a part of who we are.

I believe that it is this love alone that can give us the needed comfort in the face of death. Only this love drives out fear, and in its place offers a faith in something not unknown, but so very known we can only call it one thing: the Love of God.