Listen to Audio Devotion
As I spoke a bit about life, death, heaven, hell, and such, a friend said, “I’m not afraid of dying”. As I heard this I deeply pondered about what he had said, I wondered if I could say the same thing. Honestly speaking I’m not afraid of death. Scriptures say that death for a believer is a glorious transition to heaven. I’m certainly not afraid of going to heaven. It’s the judgment. I know that I stand before the Judge, not by my own works, but by what Jesus has done on the cross, not by my righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ. I am striving to continually walk in fellowship with God. So it’s not going to be like I meet God and He says, “Long time, no see”. Definitely not. “Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and instruction, fools despise.” (Proverbs 1:7, LEB)
I’m speaking of the fear of God. He is God. The One to be most revered, and I’ll be meeting Him in the fullness of His glory on that day. Yes, the bible does declare that “perfect love casts out fear”. But my love is nowhere close to perfect, and the fear lingers around. Sometimes I look at a few memes on Instagram about God, Christianity, and Bible Stories; some are really funny. Humor is definitely a creative work of God through which He is glorified. No doubts. But in general, the feeling I get among people is that the fear of God is greatly lacking.
Apparently the phrase “Fear not” appears 365 times in the bible. Though I’m uncertain about the number of times it appears, one thing is clear not only are we allowed to fear God, but we are commanded to fear Him. And the fear-not in the bible adds to this by saying that you do not fear anyone or anything else, but God. All our fear and reverence belong to God.
Regarding the fear of God, Martin Luther distinguished between two essential concepts: filial fear and servile fear. He defined servile fear as the fear a prisoner experiences when facing his tormentor. Filial fear is the fear that a son experiences when he loves his father and does not want to disappoint or offend him. It is a respect-based fear. The Bible urges us to have a fear of God that is rooted in reverence, adoration, and devotion. It is an expression of the highest regard. Let’s ask God to cultivate that in us every single day.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach us to love You as You have loved our Heavenly Father. We greatly lack this filial fear. You help us. In Your name, we pray. Amen
