All my life I have always heard a phrase that really confused me- “I’m a God fearing person”. As a child I couldn’t imagine being afraid of anything, really, except for the occasional bug or Daddy hiding in the wood’s waiting to jump out and scare us after ghost story night while camping. As I grew up I had other fears, but God wasn’t one of them. I feel like I hear it more and more now that I am paying more attention to people around me. However, I can’t say that I agree with them.
I talked to a few friends about this today, thinking that maybe I am wrong in the fact that I really do not fear God in any way. I recognize that he is incredibly powerful and can do all things, but I also know and believe that God is with me through every trial and I should not have any reason to fear him. One friend mentioned that she thought that any relationship in which you feared the other person, is an abusive relationship and that she doesn’t think God is abusive. I have never thought about it that way, but I have to agree! I also don’t think that I could ever have such an undying love for someone that I fear.
In the same discussion, another friend said that he always thought of this “fear” as really being an awe for all that God has done and can do. Once again, I really have to agree. Can’t we just appreciate and respect all that God does for us without being afraid of him?? Every day I go out and see all of the wonderful things around me, all part of God’s creation and am in awe that he would give us such incredible things when quite frankly, I’m not sure how much we deserve it. That’s the thing though… even if we may not deserve it by our standards, God loves us so much that he doesn’t really worry about that part- he loves us unconditionally and therefore gives us these incredible gifts every single day. Does that sound like someone you should fear?
No, I don’t think that I am a God-fearing woman. I am a God- loving woman who is so in love with everything God does for us every day that there is no room for fear of him in my life. Yes, there are bad parts of life. I just recently drove around Raleigh, NC and witnessed unreal amounts of tornado damage right by my brother’s house, only a mile or so from my house. I see news reports every day about floods, tornadoes, fires… but none of them give me any reason to fear God. Here is the thing that keeps me going in those times- yes, there are bad things but there are so many incredible things as well. If we did not have these bad things in life, we would not appreciate the good things as much!
To sum it all up, last night we watched the movie “Saved” with one of the best lines I have ever heard regarding the fear of God- “You have everything… what are you afraid of?”
I couldn't agree more! I grew up under the impression that I was to somehow learn to fear and be afraid of God. It wasn't necessarily anyone's fault, just my lack of knowledge. It wasn't until a conversation with my dad that he told me to replace the word fear with reverence. Since that moment its made so much more sense to me. This "fear" and deep respect for Him, brought forth by awareness of his presence is what inspires me to worship The Almighty! This was one of my favorites, thanks!
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