In one respect, believers have no reason to fear God.
We've accepted His wonderful gift of salvation, freeing us from eternal death, and we know there “is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:15-18)
So why does Scripture speak so positively about fearing the Lord?
It's talking about a positive type of fear—a reverence, respect, and honor that God alone deserves. When we realize that we can't fully grasp “how wide and long and high and deep” God's love is, we cannot help but develop this healthy fear (Ephesians 3:16-19).
As Psalm 118:4 says, "Let those who fear the Lord say: 'His love endures forever.'"
Best of all, we give God pleasure when we honor Him with reverent fear:
"His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." Psalm 147:10-11
Do you fear the Lord?
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We'll discover more about the fear of the Lord next week. Until then, I encourage you to read Romans 12:11 – Who Do You Love?
This hit home: Do I fear thr Lord? Do popular Bible teachings today encourage people to fear the Lord? I recognized that I fear and respect the Lord (and have some additional work to do to pin that down for ME that it is fear in the right way, not fear of losing family, health, home, etc) but that I feared my earthly father and respected him, and that helped me understand fear, love, respect for the Father...then I wondered if our children have this fear of their fathers today and recognized how important that is in developing our relationship with the Lord....
ReplyDeleteGreat insights and questions to ask yourself, Bobbie. Thanks for sharing those.
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