The Fear Of The Lord

The Fear Of The Lord

When I was young, I remember hearing about how I was supposed to fear God. There are numerous verses about that but I suppose one of the most prominent would be this:

Deuteronomy 10:12

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God...”

To a young boy, fear was not a good thing. Verses like that conjured up images in my head of waiting in my room until my father came home or walking down a dark street alone at night. I thought about the slow walk to the principal’s office to be punished.

That’s what fear meant to me. Was that how I was supposed to think of God? Was I supposed to live my life in constant dread of Him?

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote an entire chapter about love. Over time, I Corinthians 13 has come to be considered the greatest piece of literature ever written on that subject. Towards the end of that passage, Paul makes this observation:

1 Corinthians 13:11

“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”

I have observed that the English language is a beautiful thing that allows us to express amazing thoughts and ideas, but the truth is that our words are very broad and can have a wide range of meanings. The word “fear” is a great example.

Fear is an important emotion that has many levels of meaning and intent. It demands awe and reverence. It inspires understanding and respect and it should lead us to humility and submission. Godly fear has a purpose and its goal is blessing and reward, not pain and terror. Over the next few days, let’s take some time to understand exactly what it means to fear God.

Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”