Just thinking out loud again today.
While we are so often taught that fear it the opposite of faith. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love." Couple this with 1 John 4:8 which says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." And you can reason that since God is love and there is no fear in love, then the person who fears is not ruled by love and therefore not ruled by God, meaning they are having faith problems, etc. I'm sure many a pastor has done much better work of this topic.
My thoughts this morning are on how a right fear can lead to an increased faith. If I have a righteous fear of God, that is, I fear God's power and perfection. I understand that there is not a single entity more powerful than God. Not a single thing can topple Him. There is nothing about God that is not perfect. His thinking is the right way; His instruction is the right instruction; His way is the way that leads to life. There is no other way to go that leads to Him.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 2:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." I've heard many a Pastor describe this as an awe of God but not a heartfelt fear. I have to say that I disagree with them. While having an awe of the power of God is relevant, we are fools if we don't outright fear an all-powerful and perfect God knowing the evil in our hearts and His blatant disregard for that evil! The beginning of our knowledge is to know that God may see us as unnecessary at any moment in time and He alone can decide this. Our fate is in His and only His hand.
Yet God allows us to choose Him or reject Him. His defining characteristic of love dominates our relationship to Him. Understanding that we are only here by the chains of His grace and mercy that hold back His vengeance and anger while unleashing His glory and power of redemption through His Son Jesus can only reveal to us an increased faith. Our "healthy" fear of who God is and what He could do if He wasn't who He is strengthens our faith in His perfection. We see how He is righteous and we are not. We see how we can kneel before Him and know we are made worthy through His gift and only His gift. We can not be anything but thankful and grateful for who He is and for thinking of us.
Another clear conceptual understanding of a righteous fear of the Lord is to know that there is nothing that can come before Him. There is nothing that has power over Him. Therefore, when we are under attack, or when we see another under attack, or when we want God's presence to dominate somewhere, we can ask confidently knowing there is nothing other than God's divine will that can stop it. Again, there is nothing that can stop Him. ... Nothing ... Can ... Stop ... Him! ... Perfected faith is much more than the simple understanding of this. When your faith is perfected, you KNOW it and there is no doubt. When you ask of God, you ask knowing it will be done because nothing can stop God, except His developing perfection in you and others.
While we are so often taught that fear it the opposite of faith. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love." Couple this with 1 John 4:8 which says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." And you can reason that since God is love and there is no fear in love, then the person who fears is not ruled by love and therefore not ruled by God, meaning they are having faith problems, etc. I'm sure many a pastor has done much better work of this topic.
My thoughts this morning are on how a right fear can lead to an increased faith. If I have a righteous fear of God, that is, I fear God's power and perfection. I understand that there is not a single entity more powerful than God. Not a single thing can topple Him. There is nothing about God that is not perfect. His thinking is the right way; His instruction is the right instruction; His way is the way that leads to life. There is no other way to go that leads to Him.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 2:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." I've heard many a Pastor describe this as an awe of God but not a heartfelt fear. I have to say that I disagree with them. While having an awe of the power of God is relevant, we are fools if we don't outright fear an all-powerful and perfect God knowing the evil in our hearts and His blatant disregard for that evil! The beginning of our knowledge is to know that God may see us as unnecessary at any moment in time and He alone can decide this. Our fate is in His and only His hand.
Yet God allows us to choose Him or reject Him. His defining characteristic of love dominates our relationship to Him. Understanding that we are only here by the chains of His grace and mercy that hold back His vengeance and anger while unleashing His glory and power of redemption through His Son Jesus can only reveal to us an increased faith. Our "healthy" fear of who God is and what He could do if He wasn't who He is strengthens our faith in His perfection. We see how He is righteous and we are not. We see how we can kneel before Him and know we are made worthy through His gift and only His gift. We can not be anything but thankful and grateful for who He is and for thinking of us.
Another clear conceptual understanding of a righteous fear of the Lord is to know that there is nothing that can come before Him. There is nothing that has power over Him. Therefore, when we are under attack, or when we see another under attack, or when we want God's presence to dominate somewhere, we can ask confidently knowing there is nothing other than God's divine will that can stop it. Again, there is nothing that can stop Him. ... Nothing ... Can ... Stop ... Him! ... Perfected faith is much more than the simple understanding of this. When your faith is perfected, you KNOW it and there is no doubt. When you ask of God, you ask knowing it will be done because nothing can stop God, except His developing perfection in you and others.
1 comment:
"Like"
Post a Comment