Scripture says perfect love drives out fear, meaning that understanding God’s love frees you from the fear of hell and death. But I think the principle holds more broadly than that. To love is to acknowledge the human in the other. Like this guy did.
In that situation, most people would pick one of two responses.
1. They would get scared and hand over the cash.
2. They would get angry and kick his butt.
Neither option takes a second to look at the kid. All they see is a knife. Love takes the time to see our enemies for who they are, human beings, children of God. Was the guy’s reaction “safe”? No way. But maybe safety is overrated. Maybe love matters more.
Advertisement
This is good stuff. Interestingly enough, part of this guy’s response is the element of surprise. Look at it from the kid’s perspective: he expects either to instill enough fear that they’ll hand over the cash, or to have a fight on his hands. He totally doesn’t expect the coat. Any self-defense book you read or course you take will tell you to use the element of surprise whenever possible to unbalance your opponent…but none of them will tell you to try this sort of surprise! This reminds me of many things I’ve read, including what Shane Claiborne in his book The Irresistible Revolution calls “prophetic imagination”: the creativity to respond in a Christlike way.
Love is not safe, and probably is not meant to be. I disagree that the fear is a reference to hell, there…but regardless of that, those who have the courage to creep down into the core of love have courage that I don’t know I ever could. My reference story: http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=5379
That guy is a lot more brave than probably even most soldiers. Incredible what some people will do just because it is the ‘Right Thing’