A HOLY FEAR
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality
judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. 1 Pet. 1:16-17
We are called
to have a personal love relationship with God our Father, but here Apostle Peter is
quick to add the balance of the fear of God. Our love for God
is limited by a lack of holy fear. The Bible describes God both as a loving Father and a
consuming fire. (1 John 4:8; Heb. 12:29)
We must remember
both of these unchangeable attributes of God: "God
is love," and "God is a consuming fire". Consider an earthly
king with sons and daughters. In the
palace, he is husband and dad. Yes, there
are those times when they can jump in his lap, and embrace him and talk and play with him. But in the throne
room, he is king and they must revere
him as such.
Apostle Paul once
said that one of the motivations for working so hard in preaching the gospel of Christ was the terror of the Lord. He
wrote, "Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."
(2 Cor. 5:11) He warned the
believers, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
(Phil. 2:12).
Those who have been born again know God as Father. But that does not negate
His position as Judge of all the earth. As our loving Father we can approach God with
confidence. But we must remember to approach Him acceptably; with reverence and
holy fear.
Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to create in you a reverent
fear of God so that you will walk in all His
ways and please Him at all times.
Scriptural
Reading: 1 Pet. 1:13-21
