Fear is defined as: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined;
In my opinion, fear is brought on by one key factor: uncertainty.
People are afraid of the dark because they do not know what is in it. People are afraid of death because they do not know when they will die. People are afraid of doing badly on tests because their preparation can only do so much good.
People fear God for a different reason though. In part, we can never fully fathom God, so this fear could be connected to uncertainty. I believe the Fear of the Lord comes from our understanding of Him through faith. We fear God, firstly because He commands it. "Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.'" 1 Ch 19:7
The Fear of the Lord is not normal human fear though, it is a reverent awe. The fear we experience when in a thunderstorm, that mix of fear and amazement at the power of the lightening and how it does not strike us, is a small picture of the Fear of the Lord.
The Fear of the Lord also binds His people to Him. It is a kind of respect of a child to their father or mother. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!" Psalm 111:10
The Fear of the Lord is caused by the fact that we understand how far we are from God, how much sin separates us, but we also understand how much He has given to save us, His chosen people, from the Hell that we so fully deserve. The fact that he would sacrifice Himself to save murderous rebels like us should inspire reverent awe. This is the Fear of the Lord.
2 comments:
I really liked this explanation! Not that loving God is bad (it isn’t!), but sometimes I think we (myself included) forget that he deserves our fear and respect too.
I also read your paper pendants post. It's funny, I have this habit of playing with my necklaces, and whenever I wear the paper pendants I always try to bend it and it always amazes me that it doesn't bend! I mean, it's just paper and glue, right? Then I was driving the car about a week ago and I thought, the anatomy of the pendants are sort of like the church. We’re all paper people – we’re useful in a lot of ways, but when it comes down to it we can easily be bent and torn and blown asunder. However, if we come together as a community with the “glue” of Christ, He holds us together and makes us strong. Of course, if you add fire or water to the equation then my point becomes moot, so let’s not do that now because this comment is already 10x longer than I intended!
And the award for longest comment goes to..... ha ha just kidding! ;)
Seriously though, I agree! And that's a great explanation for the church...well minus the fire and water thing, but like you said, we can ignore that.
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