I have been re-reading Leo Tolstoy’s book, Confession.
I picked this up in Canada a few years ago and I think I am on my third read.

One of the greatest writers of all time, Tolstoy earned fame for his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina in the the mid-1800’s.

Confession is one of the most honest biographies of faith. In this book, Tolstoy recounts his journey from a quite hedonistic artist to a man on the brink of suicide in his search for meaning in life.
Tolstoy’s observations (which often parallel Solomon’s in Ecclesiastes) are timeless and relevant for today’s reader. 

Ultimately he comes to the conclusion that meaning in life is tied to Faith. So he begins to search out people of faith among his own class of Artists, nobleman and the wealthy.

Listen to his conclusion:

“No rationalization could convince me of the truth of their faith, though one thing might have:

But I saw no trace of such actions among the various believers in our class. On the contrary, I saw such actions among people in our class who were not believers but never among the so called believers.
Thus I realized that the faith of these people was not the faith I sought…”
– Leo Tolstoy – Confession – 1879

This afternoon, my wife and I went to an old cemetary in the area to look at the graves and take some photos.
As I was walking among row after row of graves, one caught my attention.

The photo at the top, shows the inscription on the headstone.

“Simply to Thy Cross I Cling”

That doesn’t sound like  a fearful statement.
It sounds like a statement of trust and hope.
Although the husband and wife buried beneath had been dead for a hundred years — the inscription testifies that they were not afraid. Because they knew the One they could cling to.

What Tolstoy observed is this:

If Christians do not have a faith that makes them fearless, then it offers no hope.

Question for you Christian:
Are you fearless?

How real is your faith?
Does it eliminate the fear of poverty, sickness and death?

If it doesn’t — there is no hope for you or for anyone you share it with.

When you encounter the One in whom you can simply cling — and you put everything into His hands,
There is hope.

May that Hope lead you to action — and to a Fearless Faith.