"the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'
We associate fear as a negative emotion.
Fear has no place in the life of a victorious, fully actualised human...we are told.
But fear is natural, and can be helpful, nature teaches us that.
Try telling a deer running from a wolf that fear is not helpful, it is...it provides energy!
Fear of God? Well that can be associated with negative connotations. Because none of us post modern, gen x'ers want to believe in a God who judges, condemns, hurts...
We want a nice God who loves and cuddles us.
But what we need...is a God who is strong.
If your father was not at least a little scary, then he was probably weak, and none of us, when the tough times come, want a weak father.
Nor do we actually want a weak God...we want a strong God.
That means, He is a little, maybe a lot, scary.
He is awesome...frightening, strong...to be obeyed.
He is the strong wind, the fire, the thunder....
Perfect love drives out fear...but what if God, who is love, is the one to be feared? What then?
Well...I am afraid of God, but I am also loved by Him, and I love Him.
This is a paradox......
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2 comments:
2:09 pm
Always found a little "daddy might actually DO that" to be an effective parental tool.
3:45 pm
I've encountered a number of Christians in my time who have told me that fear is a sin. They say that if you're afraid then it means you don't trust God. While I partly agree, you've pointed out it needs to be realised that there are different fears ie. fear of God. And some fears are good to have and stop us making foolish decisions.
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