Reverence for the Lord

From a young age, we understand and know the difference between right and wrong. We know it is right to share, and wrong to steal. It is a transparent value system that is black and white. This then begs the question, why do people continue to do evil things?

The Bible gives us great hope and joy to live a life that is honourable and pleasing as it sets the stage for righteousness and respectability day in and day out. In order to turn away from sin, we must understand why we are to do so. God has given us free will. This means, we are not robots. We are not born into this world with a program that makes us a perfect being. God has given us free will in hopes that someday we will choose Him out of love, and not obligation. The scriptures tell us, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one anther humbly in love,” (Galations 5:13). Thus, we can choose to overindulge at a party. We can choose to lie, steal, fight, and hate. Is this correct behaviour? You tell us.

So we understand that God has given us free will to seek Him out on our own merit. This has to be a choice rooted in His grace and love. We need to have full understanding of what this means when we choose the Lord over anything else. Isaiah 55: 6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God he will freely pardon.” That is true love friends.

Jesus also placed emphasis on this notion in the following parable speaking to the crowd, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent,” (Luke 15: 1-3).

So now we have turned away our old self to live a life that is well pleasing, but we do it because we want to, not because we have to. This then creates reverence or fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord does not mean we should be scared or afraid of Him, but rather this stems from having respect for God and thus discretion in life’s temptations.

In summary, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want, (Galatians 5:16-17). Ultimately, if you love God, you will love His desires too, and will not want to continue in old habits. Finally, in scripture, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is. His response was, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment,” (Matthew 22: 36-40). Everything else will line up, and essentially it covers all of the 10 commandments if love is the focus of your lens.

And so, we leave you with this word...

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:18 -19).