“The fear of the Lord,” is probably mostly about reverence for the one, true God who created us in His image and saved us from certain death. But, what if the fear of the Lord is also about trembling in silent terror at the most fearsome and terrible Power that’s ever existed? Of course we understand that God is compassionate and loving, and He’s a good Father and He’s merciful. But again, He’s holy and awesome and probably terrifying.
Solomon said that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Paul said that “Jesus became to us wisdom from God” and that “God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.” I think the key word that I’ve always missed in the verse from the book of Proverbs is the word “beginning”. The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom; not wisdom in its entirety, just the beginning. Jesus is the way the truth and the life; there’s nothing good or wise outside of Him, but in order to know Christ and understand why the Gospel is good news, it might serve us well to first examine a pre-Jesus revelation of God Almighty.
The first thing I want to point out is that God killed people. The flood, Soddom and Gommorah, plagues in Egypt, Korah’s followers, Uzzah... the list goes on. But before you set yourself on fire, I’ll admit that death is ultimately a result of sin and that outside of a relationship with God there is no life. So, to say God killed people might not be totally accurate but the point is that if He so chooses, God has every right to take my life.
The second, is that I think God probably created hell. I won’t go into how this isn’t really a bad thing, but I’m pretty sure that He created everything in existence. And whether hell is an eternal lake of fire, eternal separation from God, or an infinite “snuffing out” of your existence...the nature of hell isn’t the point. The point is that outside of Christ, it’s what we all deserve.
Third. God cursed land, animals, people and entire nations. He’s also blessed land, animals, people and entire nations, but the bottom line is that 100 percent of what I have; whether it’s my health or my non-existent wealth; it all belongs to God.
Fourth. God was revealed as Holy, Holy, Holy before He was revealed as Love. Moses wore a veil in God’s presence and the Jews wouldn’t even say God’s name out loud. Basically... It’s a struggle to get on my knees when I pray, and that probably shouldn’t be the case.
So, just to recap...even though I’m a child of God, loved and redeemed, and part of the most magnificent family to ever exist, God has the right to take my life, I deserve hell, all my possessions are in God’s hands, and just because Jesus is my friend doesn’t mean He doesn’t deserve my respect, awe, and endless praise.
Okay. Story time.
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it belongs to Him. For the sake of the story, let’s say you’ve kind of “stolen” yourself from God and after a while you realize that it was probably a big mistake to steal from God and you get this bright idea that maybe you should sort of...return yourself. The problem is that you’re dirty and broken and maybe not worth as much as you once were. So you’re scared that God will be angry or something. No worries. You’re just being ignorant or arrogant. The truth is that Jesus said, come as you are. Your damage isn’t anything God hasn’t seen before. He makes all things new and your worth isn’t determined by what you’ve done, it’s determined by Who you belong to. I guarantee He’ll be thrilled to have you back regardless of whether or not you’re in one piece. And it just so happens that He’s really cool so when you return yourself, He makes you whole again.
Okay, let’s go through this scenario again. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. You’ve stolen yourself away from God. You completely trash yourself and then because you know deep down that it’s the right thing to do, you decide to return yourself; because you belong to God. You skulk into God’s house all tattered and filthy with your head down. God hears you come in and turns on the light. He takes one look at you and He’s FURIOUS. Not only did you steal something, you went out and ruined it. He immediately calls the police, and despite all your tears and pleas for forgiveness, you go straight to jail for grand larceny and destruction of property.
So, was it wrong to steal? Was it the right thing to do to return what was stolen? Did God have every right to be angry? Do bad decisions warrant consequences? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. That’s justice. Grace isn’t about how bad I am. It’s about how good God is. As much as I might think it’s all about me, this whole relationship is actually about God getting back what’s rightfully His. The earth is the Lord’s; AND everything in it.
The point is that God deserves to be worshipped and loved not because He has saved us, but because he is God. Regardless of whether or not He’s loving and forgiving and desires an intimate relationship with us, He’s the King of Kings. That alone is worth your life as a sacrifice.
I’m not saying that God is a ruthless tyrant. Of course He’s compassionate and kind and cares so much about each one of us that we can’t even fathom that much affection and intimacy. But my point again, is that we’re extremely fortunate that our God is exactly who He is; both King of Kings AND loving Father.
God has every right to take my life and send me to hell, but He chose to take His own life instead. Everything I have still belongs to God, but what God desires more than sacrifice is righteousness which has been imparted to me through Christ. I’m no longer God’s enemy. Instead, I’m his adopted son, an heir to His kingdom who sits next to His throne along with Jesus, and I’ve been given the mind of Christ, to know and do God’s will forever and always.
This is good news. This is the Gospel emboldened with truth. This is great news made even greater because of an understanding of who God is.
I’m not completely sold on this idea that “the fear of the Lord” is having a realization of extreme terror and trembling. Like I said before, it’s probably mostly about reverence. So if you find the idea of a terrifying God appalling, that’s probably OK. He’s love. All His wrath has already been poured out on His own Son. But it probably wouldn’t hurt to stop throwing His name around like a volleyball and try bowing our heads once in awhile when we pray.
As a closing thought, Solomon also said, “...knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” So, I guess my desire is to know God in and out and I think as I get to know Him better, I’ll probably have a better understanding of what it means to have, “the fear of the Lord.”
Thanks for reading! I hope you’re all doing well. I’m still a full-time volunteer at YWAM Honolulu, working mostly with administration for our Discipleship Training School. We have four teams in Asia right now and three teams scheduled to leave in the beginning of April. If you think about it, you can keep me in your prayers; my staff commitment ends in September and although I’m not sure that means I’ll be parting ways with YWAM, I have a few options to weigh out. Blessings to you!
