Fearing God, Pt. 3

To fear God is to know that He is in charge, that He is sovereign. It is to let allow God to lead us, and for us to buy into what He is doing, instead of trying to get God to buy into what we are doing. It is to completely give up ourselves to Him.

God is the ultimate Father, and like any Father, He disciplines His children (Hebrews 12). A good Father is someone who is respected. He takes much more interest in the direction and the good of the child than the child’s comfort or even feelings. Jesus had no problem hurting people’s feelings and telling them what they didn’t want to here, in fact He was pretty good at it. God is interested in our righteousness and faithfulness, not our level of comfort.

To fear God is to love and respect Him. It is to know that we are important and loved and secure, but at the same time, we aren’t going to get away with anything. In the Old Testament, prophets talked about the Day of the Lord. It was a day where the Lord would make things right by lifting up the oppressed and bringing down the proud and wicked. It was almost like the prophets were giving the “just wait till your dad gets home” speech. Any kid who has had the threat knows the fear with it, and probably comes from a family with very loving parents.

Of course in all of this, God continually reminds us in Scripture that He is not to be messed with or manipulated. There is the story of Uzziah in 2 Samuel 6:6-7. There is the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. And there are many examples of God showing that He will not put up with people who claim to follow Him and then disrespect Him. I will not try to explain or justify the seeming cruelty of these stories. God is judge, and I will not try to speak for Him or defend Him.

We need to have a sense of awe and mystery about our God. The fear is not terror, it is reverence. It is knowing that His love burns with a passionate furry for us, which is why it is such a big deal when we hurt ourselves and others with sin. A love that strong must be respected, and it creates fear, for we cannot understand it. We only need to be afraid of God when we try to put ourselves in His position. But if we accept His discipline, we will fall on His grace and mercy, and find that He has cushioned the blow of our own mistakes.

--posted while listening to a podcast of Patrick Mead called "Bling: A Generous People"