There is often a confusing distinction between God being Love (1 John 4:8) and God being someone we are commanded to "fear". I don't think there's a clean, cookie-cutter answer to this because it deals with the nature of God which is something bigger than the mind can grasp. It helps me to think about it like this...the one command in the Bible given more than any other command is simply "be not afraid". We are told countless times and in countless ways that God has not given us a spirit of fear and that through Him, we can be courageous in all circumstances. Jesus Himself said that we should not fear man but God because God is the one who has power not only over this mortal life, but eternity.
It is as if God is telling us that the only healthy outlet for our fears is to direct them to Him alone. I also believe that a healthy fear can help mold our immature hearts towards a deeper love and faith. When I was very young, I had a healthy fear of my Dad. I knew that if I crossed the line, I would pay for it. I also knew that he loved me more than I could imagine. As I grew, there was much less need for fear as my heart and mind had matured under the loving guidlines he enforced and made possible in part by the "fear" I had of his wrath. I now see that even when I was punished, it was motivated solely out of his love for me.
No parent is perfect, so those parallels will always break down at some point, because God is perfect. His love is perfect. His mercy is perfect. I believe that even His wrath is perfect because it is an extension of His Holiness and it is used to bring us to Him where we ultimately discover his loving and tender Grace. The Bible has much to say about all this and philosophers and theologians much more qualified than me have discussed these thing for centuries, but I wanted to share a few thoughts I've had along the way. I hope it helps.
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1 comment:
Good post Dave and well put.
"Fear" calls up images of being horrified or of being scared to death. As you stated, that's not what God wants from us. I would much rather think of it as "know who you are and know who God is" or "know your position/relation to the Almighty God". The more we come to realize that, our respect of God and our sense of humility, but also our utmost thankfulness for His grace and loving kindness should become greater and greater.
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