Have you ever considered all the moments when God said to someone, “Don’t be afraid.” Sometimes, God spoke those words and at other times his messenger spoke the words. By “messenger” I mean angels, prophets, or the Son himself. At the same time, we find dozens of passages that command us to fear God.
If I were to summarize all those passages I might say: If you fear God you don’t have to be afraid of God and if you don’t have to be afraid of God you don’t have to be afraid of anyone else.
Let me explain. Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (See Prov. 1:7). A proper view of God as the sovereign Lord over all creation, holy, righteous in all he does, all powerful, all present and all knowing is the first step to a relationship with him. To hold him in awesome respect as the judge of all the earth holds everything else in place. Our first response to God should be the same as Isaiah’s response when he saw the Lord high and lifted up and seated on his throne – “Woe is me!” (Isa.6:1ff). As great a prophet as Isaiah was his sense of sin and weakness in the presence of God’s majesty, justice, and holiness was overwhelming. That view of God keeps us honest and keeps us from abusing God’s grace and love.
Let’s be honest. Somewhere in our fallen nature is the capacity to take advantage of those who love us unconditionally and lavishly. In response to that capacity, Paul asked the rhetorical question, “Should we sin all the more that grace may abound?” In other words, should we sin intentionally and often and simply seek our own gratification because God is gracious and forgiving? The answer is no of course but a view of God that simply acknowledges his graciousness, long-suffering, and forgiving side places us on a track to abuse the relationship.
God offers us an intimate, Father/son or Father/daughter relationship in which we can be secure and come boldly before his throne seeking help. He has offered us friendship, forgiveness, patience and grace. However, he can offer us that side of the relationship only as long as we remember who he is. I have seen fathers who have become friends with their children in the sense that they played, teased, and laughed with their children. I have also seen those children begin to abuse that familiarity and speak with a lack of respect or act as if they no longer needed to obey that father. They confused his kindness and his willingness to communicate on their level with equality. In those cases, the father was quick to remind them that he was still the father and the one in charge.
If we never forget that our Heavenly Father is still God Almighty, Creator, and Judge then he can extend to us familiarity (Abba Father) and even friendship because we won’t become careless with the relationship or take advantage of his love and kindness. If we fear God then we don’t have to be afraid of him. When you consider Abraham, Isaiah, Moses and others to whom he said, “Don’t be afraid,” it is clear that they held an awesome respect and reverence for God. Therefore, he could call them friends, welcome them into his throne room, and extend forgiveness when needed because the relationship stood on the healthy foundation of fear.
When we fear God we don’t have to be afraid of him because we have love and friendship as a bond. When the one who loves you and counts you as a friend is the most powerful being in the universe then you have not need to fear anyone else. God has your back and if God is for you who can stand against you? I know there is tension between familiarity, comfort, friendship and the fear of God. That tension is not contradictory but keeps us in balance between two extremes so that our relationship with the Father can flourish. Meditating on his greatness and holiness as well and his grace and kindness is a healthy thing. You may want to do that today and be blessed.
