The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.
- Oswald Chambers
Far too many people are afraid of God, and yet at the same time far too few people fear Him. I think this is because too many people preaching fire and brimstone, judgment of God, messages trying to scare the hell out of folks have succeeded only in driving people from the truth of God's amazing love for them. Jesus never tried to scare the hell out of anyone. He didn't threaten us with a God who is itching to get us the second that we step out of line. No, Jesus came to love the hell out of us and spoke frequently of Daddy's love and mercy, which ultimately led to the cross so that a loving God wouldn't have to give us what we deserve but could show mercy while remaining just. If you have become His adopted son or daughter, you have nothing to be afraid of, especially not Daddy, whose mercies are new every morning and whose love for us never fails or falls short.
There are reasons why pretty much every time a supernatural messenger of God shows up to talk to someone in the scriptures the first thing it has to convey is Fear not. First, it is a message from the heart of God. He doesn't want us to be afraid of Him. What good parent does? A good parent wants to be respected, listened to and obeyed, wants their children to understand that the parents have wisdom and understanding above that of the child and knows what's best, wants the child to trust that there is a reason they say not to do things that will bring negative consequences. A good parent wants their children to know they are loved and to be loved in return, wants to spare them the pain and misery and destruction of foolish and wrong choices and from the dangers of the world. I can remember my father on the edge of tears expressing to me how he wished he could take my place so that he could spare me the hell of prison. That's what our loving Daddy did. God took our place, took the judgment that we rightly deserved, so that we could be spared from having to endure it. We have a good God and do not have a reason to be afraid of Him. He desires nothing as much as to show us His love.
Yet, at the same time we should fear Him, and if we had even a slight glimpse of who He is, that is the only possible natural response. That is the second reason for the Fear not message from angels. This is not the fear that one has when we see a venomous snake at our feet or are facing a vicious and angry dog. This is not fear that is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. To fear the Lord is to have an overwhelming sense of wonder and awe and love for Him that leads to a dread of displeasing Him. We don't dread displeasing Him because we are afraid He will strike us in His wrath, but simply because the worse thing we can imagine is to hinder or harm that relationship which means more than anything and everything else.
I revere (respect, honor and highly value and esteem) my wife and my marriage. I serve my wife, and she serves me, not out of fear that the other will become angry or mean if we fail to do so, but out of love to show our great value placed on the relationship and each other. I do things that I know or hope will bless her, make her happy, and show her how important she is to me. I show my fear for her and what we have by not doing things that would cause her to be disappointed, hurt her or make her feel that she is devalued in my eyes and heart. I'm not afraid that she would hurt me if I failed, but I am afraid of hurting her. So I tread carefully with her heart, much as I would take care with something costly, precious and irreplaceable that I would be devastated to drop and break.
This is one of the signs of a good relationship, that it is cared for and treated as something precious and irreplaceable. We dread destroying it, and, therefore, treat it and the person with reverence and respect. How much more so should we fear damaging the relationship and hurting the heart of the One who created us, loves us and gave Himself for us? No human relationship is as important and as essential to our life as the one we have with God, not even the relationships with spouse, parent or child. And none of us when witnessing a marriage relationship where one partner ignores the needs, desires and feelings of the other and lives selfishly, causing pain repeatedly while counting on the other to always forgive and never forsake, no matter how little affection and care they are shown or how great the disregard, would call that love. In fact, we would call that a sick and abusive relationship and the very opposite of what a loving marriage should be. And yet all too often, we speak of the great mercy of God and His quickness to forgive as an excuse to claim love while living for self and treating our relationship with Him as though it is of little importance and value and treating His love and heart as an afterthought.
This should not be! We rejoice in the truth of His mercy and forgiveness, not because it gives us the ability to live like it doesn't matter what we do, but because we know that no matter how great our love, we will fail and fall short. It's wonderful to know that making a mistake and hurting His heart does not cause us to be rejected. Just as when I say or do something without thinking that makes Leah feel devalued or hurt doesn't mean she will pack her bags. She loves me and forgives me when that happens, and unfortunately it does happen from time to time. But knowing she will show love, mercy and forgiveness is not a reason to act without caring or concern for her. It is just another reason to love her more and to be thankful for how wonderful she is. Once again,, even more so with God.
So, today, let us fear Him, as in let us understand how amazing and wonderful He is and how undeserving we truly are to have Him love us so much and be so quick and faithful to forgive our many shortcomings, and let us dread damaging and devaluing our relationship with Him and hurting His heart. Let us walk by the power of the Spirit, through grace, to return to Him the love and honor that He so greatly deserves. But let us, not for one minute, be afraid of Daddy. Let us be quick to turn to Him, to embrace Him and to include Him in all that we do. Because of who our Daddy is, who don't have to be afraid of Him or of anything else, because our Daddy is bigger than the danger of this world. We no longer have to be slaves to fear.
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