Basic: Fear God

My college and careers group at church had started going through a video series presented by Frances Chan, called, "Basic". So far, it's a rather good series. We had quite a good discussion after watching the first video this past Sunday afternoon.


The first video was about the fear of God. Now, most people within the church might say, "Oh, when we say fear, what we really mean is more of having respect or awe." However, I think Mr. Chan had it on point when he says that we are going to tremble and fear in front of God when the time comes. However, this fearing of God (I'm more akin to the whole freaking out and panicking version) is actually what has us humbling ourselves and being brought closer to God.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." -Psalm 111:10, NIV

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." - Proverbs 9:10, NIV

Furthermore, once we recognize who God is, about His omnipotent power and that He can take us out in an second as He chooses, and we cower in the terror of it all, He then tells us, "fear not". Yes, that sounds confusing, but this was shown several times throughout the gospels: when Gabriel the angel appeared to Zechariah and Mary, he told them not to be afraid (Luke 1); when an angel appeared in front of the shepherds in Bethlehem, he calmed them by saying, "Do not be afraid" (see Luke 2). It's like how a father expects his children to fear and respect him and once they do, he turns around and tells them it's okay and that they don't have to be afraid anymore, pouring out his love for them. To me, that is what I now see about God. It's like, the fear that I have about God leads me to life, one that is more abundant, challenging and valuable.

Well, that's all I have to say about what I learned of fearing God. Stay tuned for next time as a new post on the Basic series will be made soon.

Peace out!