Carol McClain

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 snow; Though 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.”
   1. • 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.

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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.

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