Fear and Trembling

There she stood in obvious anticipation with that trusting stare. She was clipped, brushed and her pendulous ears meticulously cleaned and groomed. After her very thorough shower, she smelled of cheap shampoo. Marley, our seven year old English Springer Spaniel, was now ready for her annual visit to the vet. This is a yearly event I have come to dread. I approach it with much prayer, before, during and after the experience. Marley is inexplicably stressed by a visit to the vet even when she is perfectly healthy and only due for a couple of vaccination boosters that she doesn't even feel when they are administered. Regular readers may remember a blog about this annual event last year (Count It All Joy, August 18, 2009). It truly is a memorable day for Lozanne and I each year.

After lunch, leash in hand, ready for certain later use, and collar securely fastened, I ushered her into the back seat of the car. This year she was immediately suspicious. I have no idea how, but she sensed her destination. She began to shake...just a little, but shaking nevertheless. As I made the turn onto the highway that leads to her veterinarian of four years, a cowering Marley with begging eyes greeted me in the rear view mirror. The trembling increased with each passing kilometer.

Upon arrival in the parking lot, I had to block her escape through the open car door as I secured her leash in order to literally drag her into the clinic waiting room. Thankfully, this year there were no other dogs in the waiting room. Last year it was quite evident that her stressed behavior influenced the less than perfect deportment of other dogs who were blissfully unaware that they were in harms way, until Marley somehow communicated clearly with her demeanor of sheer terror that there was something sinister about this place and this afternoon. The whining, the begging to leave, the pulling toward the door, the standing up to look me in the eyes, the shaking, the trembling, the look of abject fear was enough to convey her clear message to all around her. This year there was no audience to influence. As usual, the actual visit with the vet with me holding her with much difficulty on the examination table was quite uneventful and painless for Marley. Unfortunately the vet and I didn't enjoy the visit nearly so much. I was brushing dog hair off my sweaty brow and clothes an hour after the visit. As I left the office, exhausted, I thought about her fear and trembling and indeed those very words came to me as a quote from the apostle Paul in Philippians 2: 10-12.

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 ¶ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

Paul is speaking to the members of the church at Philippi. In this epistle, he is attempting to correct some of the bad habits that had sprung up in his absence. Apparently divisiveness and squabbling were diverting the Philippians from an effective walk with Jesus. Verses 10 and 11 present a beautiful and effective picture of the lordship of Jesus. Eventually all will bow to His kingship either voluntarily or otherwise. All will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Some scholars have argued that the salvation mentioned in verse 12 actually refers to the Philippians successfully dealing with their difficulties. Other scholars insist that Paul is indeed referring to their redemption through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. My interpretation, particularly based on the translation presented in the Amplified Bible, is that in verse 12, Paul is referring to our redemptive salvation. He is suggesting that those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and are, as a result, saved from their sin, should continue every moment they are alive on this earth to “cultivate” or “fully complete” their salvation. They should do this with fear and trembling that actually reflects “awe, reverence, watchfulness, caution and timidity for anything that might offend God”. We know with certainty that we can’t work our way to heaven, but we can indeed further our initial acceptance of the free gift of salvation by continuing daily as best we can toward the goal.

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