There are few things Jesus said more often than “fear not” and “don’t be afraid.” This was his calling card.

Walking on water, freaking people out, doing miraculous things, coming back from the dead! Every time, he says “don’t be afraid.”

It is possible that Jesus is offering a way of being in the world: part stoic, part Jedi. And it is just as likely that he was saying this to people who had every right to be afraid and he was trying to calm them.

But given what we know, it always boggles my mind that we continue to use fear as an excuse. For anything. Like Jesus would be like “Oh, yeah, you were afraid. It’s all good.” When he never acted like that and often said the opposite.

So yes, we can be afraid of change. But we don’t get to use that to justify not following Jesus.