Saturday, March 31, 2007
1 John 4: 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
I could easily understand that with Love there could be no fear but I couldn't understand how to Love God and Fear God when each drives out the other. I have been on a 27 year search to understand this paradoxical mystery, because over and over again Sacred Scripture says:
Revelations 14: 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, for his time has come to sit in judgment. Worship him who made heaven and earth and sea and springs of water."
Tobit 4: 21 Do not be discouraged, my child, because of our poverty. You will be a rich man if you fear God, avoid all sin, and do what is right before the Lord your God."
Ecclesiastics 7: 29 With all your soul, fear God, revere his priests.
1 Peter 2: 17 Give honor to all, love the community, fear God, honor the king.
Because of the many Scriptural exhortations to "Fear God" and because of how insistent and inviting these commands are, it is obvious that it is a requirement. I just could not reconcile with any reasonable degree of satisfaction the conflict between fearing God and loving Him with all of my heart, body, mind, and soul. Again, to me love and fear were impossible to reconcile. They are worse than oil and water. Separation seemed to be required.
I have been taught that in these scriptures the meaning of fear is different from the meaning of fear in the other passages. I considered this many times and in many ways. Most of these suggest that fear mean to honor or to respect, though I can never remember honoring or respecting anyone the created fear. I fear "cars and their drivers" and out of fearful respect give them a lots of distance. This fear does create respect it does not create hate nor does it create love and honor. Respectful distance is not what I want from a relationship with God. I can not think of the relationship between God and Jesus as one of respectful distance. I fear poisonous snakes. I nearly jump out of my skin when I suddenly come upon one. This type of fear of God would also be of respect, and it would create an even greater distance between my self and God.
It was acceptable but it was not satisfying.
I began to consider the requirement to "Fear God" with renewed enthusiasm when I changed from thinking about the behavior of fear to the structure of fear. The structure of fear is discovered by taking the experience of fear and learning how a person creates fear in their mind. As I began to unpack the structure of fear I learned that it requires the "thing" I fear to be placed above my head, just behind the back of my head looming just out of knowing. The "thing" I fear takes the most important or most critical position in my mind by becoming all consuming and all important and unknown, just like God.
Fearing God is placing God in the most important place in my mind.
--Mary HAD a little lamb--
12:38 AM
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW BLOG...
Monday, March 19, 2007
harlows.this is a school PROJECT CRUSH blog...so no vulgarities out there kayz?rebecca and i will soon be posting posts on LOVE /INTEGRITY /JUSTICE /FREEDOM /MAXIMISING POTENTIAL /GOD-FEARING /GRACIOUS AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE/TRUTH .so this is just a sneak peek into our blog. (:
--Mary HAD a little lamb--
9:57 PM
