“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7).
This is true all of the time, but it is especially true when people are tempted to fear other things.
A Christian is someone who has come to know the greatness and holiness of God to such an extent that everything else pales in comparison. This does not mean that a Christian is not tempted to fear other things, but when a Christian hears the voice of his God, he is comforted and his fears are relieved.
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).
But we live in times where there is no fear of God before the eyes of many. Babies are murdered and many who know better are more afraid of not being re-elected than they are of standing before the Living God and giving an account for their lies and inaction. Sexual immorality is celebrated as freedom and diversity, when it is nothing short of slavery and the monotony of death. Our leaders flaunt their own wisdom, defying the clear laws of God, establishing their greed and injustice, not caring for a moment about the last moment when they will stand naked before the throne of God.
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). There are no do-overs in eternity, and there really are no do-overs in history. There is only the eternally holy God who hates all evil, and there are sinners without anywhere to hide from His gaze, and there is Christ the only refuge, the only covering, the only the shelter.
Hidden in Christ in God is not a place of no fear at all. It is a place where perfect love casts out all carnal fear, all fear of death, all fear of man, all fear of judgement and suffering. But that perfect love is God Himself and therefore it is full of perfect fear – a fear that hates all evil, a fear growing in wisdom, a fear full of joy.
Photo by Akshay Prakash on Unsplash
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