We hear the words, “Fear the Lord” but how many of us really understand what this means. Many have the Old Testament mindset that fear means punishment. This is the wrong interpretation of the fear of the Lord. Fear is to do with reverence and honor and respect. When we honor someone we give them the respect due to them as people in authority. God is above us all and trying to be equal to Him is a fallacy. This is what led Lucifer to fall from grace. Pride can sometimes manifest as a know it all attitude. This can cause many troubles to oneself and to others. When we fear the Lord we become aware of His presence and therefore desire to honour Him in everything we say and do. He watches over us and knows our thoughts and feelings. We fool ourselves by thinking we can get away with things we say and do. This is why Jesus said we must be careful with our words.
Church
The church has lost the fear of the Lord. Many think that God is all-loving and so will overlook our sins. God is a God of righteousness and justice. We reap the consequences of our actions. Lucifer fell through disobedience. Adam and Eve fell through disobedience. Look at what happened to them. The opposite of love is justice. Love does not ignore injustice. A loving God is also a God of justice. Love misinterpreted many times gets us into difficulties. We will bend rules to please others but in the end, this is not love. Love disciplines and operates within certain boundaries. Where there are no boundaries there will be chaos.
Word of God
This is why we need to know the word of God, which is our template for knowing God. He has made Himself known to us through the scriptures and through His Son, Jesus. Now we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us into all truth. Truth is reality. When we obey God’s word we live in reality. We face many issues in life and we have to know God’s mind on these issues and walk in obedience. What we are faced with are opinions on issues. This clouds the truth and therefore what we see is a world of grey. Jesus was black and white and there were no grey areas in His life. We may interpret His words to suit our sinful nature but this is not the truth. Today let us walk in the fear of the Lord and be set free.
