On fear II

So I've been thinking about this fear thing lately. It seems from my knowledge of the Bible that the phrase "fear of God" is intended to convey more than I have ever fully accepted, but less, I think, that what I have occasionally heard from others.

I think that the authors of the Bible were serious in their admonishment to fear God. And in intimate encounter human beings were undeniably afraid of God. The first such example is the case of Adam and Eve. Post-sin, they were ashamed and afraid, and so they hid from God. Moses certainly felt the fear when he spoke to the burning bush. And Isaiah's account includes its share. The one thing that all of these accounts share is a sense of insufficiency, and a recpgnition of God's role in Creation and judgement.

Judgement--a word from which our culture recoils. How often in a modern church do you hear about the judgement of God...and yet in a cursory search from memory, it is mentioned more often in the Bible than the love or mercy of God. But wait you say--Judgement is the Old Testement paradigm...the New Testement is all about the love man. I haven't researched exhaustively, but I'd bet that Judgement is a more common theme, even in the new testement. It is an inescapable part of the character of God. Ask yourself...would you really rather believe in a God that is morally neutral, or one that holds each individual to account for his actions. Should God really put me and Hitler on the same moral plane. In a certain sense of course, yes. We are both sinful wayward creations. But in another sense no. If God id truly God then He will hold Hitler to account for each of his actions.

So what does judgement have to do with fear? I'm not sure. But I think that when we truly have a firm grasp on our relationship to God and truly understand his holiness and our sinfulness then we will recognize that we have no option save to throw ourselves at his feet begging for mercy. This is I believe the beginning of the fear of the Lord. It is a constuctive fear. I am at a certain level, terrified of fire...for good reason. This fear leads me to respect its potential and to take steps to keep it from killing me. The same goes for water, cars, sharp sticks, pit bulls and God.

But doesn't this fear stop once I become a Christian and the threat of hell recedes? Perhaps not. According to the New Testement we will be held to account for our actions as God's servants. Will we be prepared for Judgement? As Paul says, if we build a house of straw we will escape on Judgement day as one escaping from flames. And according to the book of Revelation there are to books, the book of life and eht book where all our deeds are recorded. So the fear of God that stems from this recognition refines us and spurs us to greater heights.

To be continued...maybe