GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:50
I Am
Fear is a natural protective mechanism inside every sentient creature, especially humans. Alice and I traveled in the West to visit our children. On one stretch of highway in Nebraska, the speed limit across the flat, straight road was 80 mph. Unaccustomed to driving at such high speeds, I gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Some other drivers, mostly Nebraskans, passed me as if I were blocking their progress. They appeared to have no fear of driving 85 or 90 mph.
Workers installed electric lights in the White House in the 1890s, during President Benjamin Harrison’s administration (1889-1893). White House employees claim the Harrisons were fearful of touching the light switch and always called an electrician to turn the lights on and off.
I’ve worked with electric wiring since my high school electric shop course, but I respect its danger. A young missionary, Robert Prevost, was helping with the rebuilding work in Chulucanas, Peru, in the aftermath of the deadly El Niño floods in the 1980s when he picked up two live wires. A fellow worker tackled Prevost, knocking him away from the deadly wires and saving him from being electrocuted. Prevost became Pope Leo XIV in early 2025.
In September 2023, news programs reported daily on the status of Mark Dickey, the explorer trapped for twelve days in a cave 4,186 feet underground in Turkey. No one need worry about me getting trapped in a cave 4,000 feet below ground. No way, never—fear would keep me out of such a place. Brave rescuers, though, did successfully extract Dickey.
Peter recounted a harrowing experience to his young protégé Mark. The disciples were sailing west on the Sea of Galilee when a mighty storm caught them—high winds and waves splashing over the side of their boat. Jesus was alone on a mountain praying and saw the danger. He ended his prayer and went to the disciples, walking on the water. The disciples saw this unimaginable phenomenon and were terrified. Not only were they facing the danger of the storm, but now they were facing another danger. “For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, ‘Take courage. I am. Fear not.’” (Mark 6:50)
Jesus did not tell the disciples to ignore the dangerous wind, waves, or water splashing over the gunwales. He issued two commands: “Take courage” and “Fear not.” In the middle of these two commands, he declared the basis for their authority: “I am.” That short, pithy declaration, that underpins believers’ courage and fearlessness remains relevant to this day.
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