There is a big difference in loving God and fearing God! Some may ask how does Love and Fear even go together? Don't they contradict each other? And that is where I would say that the majority of Christians are going wrong in their walk with the Lord. Let's take a deeper look...
Love - I can love God very easily. After all He makes it so much easier for me to do this when He's constantly blessing my socks off and providing the essentials needed for everyday living. I can love God when things go my way or when that big prayer is answered that I've been praying for. I can love God when I go to church and hear a message from Him, when I read a message from Him in the Bible or when he speaks to me through worship. Loving God is quite simply put, easy.
But what happens when we look at fearing God?
Fear - I can't fear God unless I respect Him! Again, I can not fear God unless I respect him. Where loving God is so easy because of all His mercy and blessings and his first loving us, fearing God is where your true Christian make-up comes into play. What are you made of? Do you respect God so much that you fear Him? When we say the word Fear it doesn't mean "scared". It's another word for respect.
Do you fear/respect Him enough to make a complete change in your life?
Do you fear/respect Him enough to want to hear from Him?
Do you fear/respect Him enough that you are willing to do anything to reflect that respect?
When we respect God we...
- Love what He loves
- Hate what He hates
- Make what is important to Him important to us
- Make what is unimportant to Him unimportant to us
So now the only question left to ask is do you Love God or Fear Him?
That was a great lesson last night - good talking too!
ReplyDeleteI personally have the one statement stuck in my mind where he said that "To fear God, you are more afraid of living without him then living with him" - LOVE THAT!