Does God Scare You? He Shouldn’t.

@carol_mcclain

I used to be scared of God.

Scared. Yep. Not the healthy fear of God.

Having been raised in a certain Christian faith where God was scary and unforgiving when I became a Christian (the born-again kind), God once more became the God of my former faith. Everything I did had consequences- not for good or evil, but for eternal punishment. If I didn’t atone for every jot and tittle (in non-Christian speak, that’s every slight mishap/undotted i or uncrossed t.), then I was doomed.

That’s not God.

 

The Fear of the Lord is healthy.

  1. God tossed our sins away. Ps. 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.”
    • From us. They don’t touch us any longer. They don’t circle until the east meets the west. They are gone. They never touch us again.
    • Micah 7:19 says He Himself forgets our sins. “He will again take pity on us; He will trample on our wrongdoings. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.”
      • I guess all this means our wrongdoings are drowned and tossed into the stratosphere. Seeing as I can’t find my cell phone most of the time–we’re in good shape.
  2. God cleanses us from all unrighteousness. (In non-Christian lingo, the sin is gone). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9.
      • Cleanses us. Isaiah 1:18 says, ‘Come now, and let us  debate your case,” Says the Lord,
        “Though your sins are as scarlet, They shall become as white as snowThough they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.'”
  3. Who else is like Christ? Col. 1: 13-14 says,  “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
      • This, then, is the fear of the Lord. I heard the term fear as morally, reverence (Strong’s #3374).
      • We’re not in the domain of darkness. We have redemption and forgiveness.
What then is the fear of the Lord?

The easiest way I can define this concept is through an analogy. I love my husband. He’s good and kind and understanding (even when I’m a hangry ogre in the middle of a kitchen renovation). I would never cheat on him or lie to him because I do not want to let him down. I do not want to hurt him. I want to honor him.

This is our fear of God. We want to honor Him and make Him proud.


Coming in the summer of 2024

The Honeymoon’s Over. Fifty-year-old newyleds have to leave the past behind. Because of the “fear” of their marriage (see the tie-in to my blog?), they must make decisions to keep the life together strong.

But … “adult” children, ageing parents, weird obsessions intrude.The story will have you rolling in laughter.


3 Comments

  1. […] But more–he did not want to bring shame to the name of Jesus. He understood the fear of the Lord. […]

  2. Great tie-in, Carol! Fear of God is probably the most misunderstood point in Christianity because we’re taught from babyhood to fear harmful things–hot stoves, snakes (poisonous or otherwise made no difference), and drunk people.

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