"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

There is a certain courage to be who we are built into the dynamics of Christian faith and grace. DONALD C. HOUTS (see biographical note preceding Smart, Wise, and Foolish) relates this courage to three common debilitating fears in his sermon The Courage to Be Me: The fears of doubt, self-disclosure, and failure.

There is a sense in which vitality in human life is a product of the tension between fear and faith. If all were certain, then our concept of faith would lose its meaning. But each of us is subject to the mysteries of the unknown, the limitations of our finite perspective, and the necessity of moving ahead. Thus, by our nature, we are creatures of both fear and faith. Let us consider how our Christian faith may speak to us in…