To Fear God is to Love God

Psalm 25:12 “Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

In The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, two girls, Susan and Lucy, get ready to meet Aslan the Lion. Aslan represents Christ. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver prepare the children for the encounter. “Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie,” said Mrs. Beaver. “And make no mistake, if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then isn’t he safe?” said Lucy. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course, he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you!”

I’m learning daily, the fear of God. The fear of God is not fight or flight. The fear of God is like the fear one might have of high voltage. High-voltage electricity has the power to snuff out life in a flash, yet we employ 220V daily to run our appliances in the home. I have deep respect for the power socket in my bedroom but I’m most grateful for the power it provides to bring me light in the dark.

Our God is high and exalted. He is our sovereign Majesty. His character is supreme, his power unlimited and his will, paramount. Our God is the supreme Creator of the universe. He has the power to snuff out life in a flash. Yet, God loved you and me so much that he gave his righteous Son as a propitiation for our sins. By his grace, we boldly approach his throne and obtain mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.

To fear God is to love God. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love. To fear God is to not fear his judgement. If you know Christ as Saviour, having surrendered your life to him, then you live in love, not fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Yet we are told that he will teach us his ways if we fear him.

The fear of the Lord is not a trepidation of his presence. The fear of the Lord is a deep reverent respect for his majesty, power and grace. The fear of God is to lovingly worship him in spirit with a true heart. He’s good. He’s the king.

Get into the word of God and get the word of God into you!

Hebrews 4:16 2 Timothy 1:7 1 John 4:17-19 John 4:23 — Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa Dudley Anderson began writing for radio in 1994. Dudley currently writes a weekly e-mail Christian motivational thought called GodTracker and has complied 2 devotional books based on GodTracker. More information at surereaity.net