Someone just sent me a Twitter DM that read, "I love people that fear the Lord!!! They're cool people!" For some reason I replied, "I Love, honor and respect God. A person doesn't approach the One (s)he fears. What I "fear" is disappointing Him."
We traded a few more DM's after that, but I believe my feelings were best summed up in this: "I know many Christians use the phrase, and that God does have a temper! For some reason, though, it seems odd to fear One I Love so much...."
In that nutshell I realized that, over the years, I've opened my heart to Love to the point where there is no more room left for fear. Instead, I have found unquestioning Trust in God.
I certainly know God has a temper! I know what God's Wrath can do....
But the Love inside helps me get past the trepidation caused by this knowledge and I'm able to open my heart wide to both God and others without fear. Even when I know I'll find heartache sometimes. I Love God so much that I cannot hold back and cower in fear; I just want to run to Him, do what I can to please Him and serve Him in whatever ways I am called to do!
What I now fear isn't God - but disappointing Him. Like a toddler who always tries to please a parent, sometimes I succeed, and I know sometimes I fail.... :*(
Looking back at these words, I also wonder how many people stake a claim in their faith ONLY because they FEAR the outcome of NOT doing so..... instead of opening their hearts to Love.
Seek the Love
To get past Fear
And find the Love so very dear!
-ESA
We traded a few more DM's after that, but I believe my feelings were best summed up in this: "I know many Christians use the phrase, and that God does have a temper! For some reason, though, it seems odd to fear One I Love so much...."
In that nutshell I realized that, over the years, I've opened my heart to Love to the point where there is no more room left for fear. Instead, I have found unquestioning Trust in God.
I certainly know God has a temper! I know what God's Wrath can do....
But the Love inside helps me get past the trepidation caused by this knowledge and I'm able to open my heart wide to both God and others without fear. Even when I know I'll find heartache sometimes. I Love God so much that I cannot hold back and cower in fear; I just want to run to Him, do what I can to please Him and serve Him in whatever ways I am called to do!
What I now fear isn't God - but disappointing Him. Like a toddler who always tries to please a parent, sometimes I succeed, and I know sometimes I fail.... :*(
Looking back at these words, I also wonder how many people stake a claim in their faith ONLY because they FEAR the outcome of NOT doing so..... instead of opening their hearts to Love.
Seek the Love
To get past Fear
And find the Love so very dear!
-ESA
Posts
To me fearing God meant that I thought about what He thought about the activities in my life. If I was doing something sinful in my life, I stopped doing it. I lived this way for 10 years and then He rewarded me one day for living that way and it was the greatest day of my life! The bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. One of the 7 spirits of God that Jesus had was one called "the fear of the Lord". Anyway, I love it! It's just like the bible says it is if you follow it's path, the BEGINNING!
ReplyDeleteKim
Actually, theologically "fear" doesn't mean Biblically what it means in our culture. To say someone is "God-fearing" isn't an insult and isn't a definition of spiritual immaturity and shouldn't be understood to be so.
ReplyDeleteTruly, to "fear God" means to have a sense of awe, of knowing our littleness in the face of God's greatness. It is recognizing who we are in relation to Him, and being brought to our knees (or prostrate!) in amazement and wonder of His goodness.
It isn't about being scared or not loving Him enough.
We SHOULD fear God, but in so doing, we need to have a proper understanding of the Biblical/Theological significance of that term. And yes, true fear of God involves self-effacing love in response to His own Divine Charity.