Fear and Love. The Bible contains lots of verses referring to both emotions, and the verses seem to conflict with one another.

1. All of John’s letters expound on love. “Perfect love casts out fear” is an example. (1 John 4:18)

2. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7)

That second one. I’ve heard many a pastor explain the word “fear,” saying it really means “holy awe.” Or “reverence.”  I agree.

 

But it’s a both/and.

 

Yes, we are in utter awe of the God of the universe. Those who experience His majesty find themselves face down on the ground, overcome by His Presence. We worship.

That matchless awe points to the fact that so much power—more power than we can describe or truly understand—can knock us out of existence with a little

poof

of His breath.

 

 

THAT’S a feeling of fear.

But what about those verses on “God is love?” How can He be love if we’re terrified of His power?

 

Here’s an earthly demonstration of fear combined with love.

 

My son is one of the best fathers I know. He’s raised his children where his yes means yes and his no means no. His two oldest are teenagers now, but this little incident happened when  they were toddlers.

 

 

The girls were experimenting with those little slots in the wall. What might fit?

Their daddy noticed the dangerous activity. After gently removing likely tools from their hands, he looked each little girl in the eye, a very solemn expression on his face. “No.” And he pointed to the socket.

His babies burst into tears. Both of them. A double, instant eruption.

They had done something wrong. Daddy wasn’t pleased. He gathered them in his arms and kissed them until their tears dried.

As far as I know, they never played with an electric socket again, not because they were scared of their father, although they respected his authority. Their desire to please him easily outpaced their fear. They loved their father. They knew he loved them.

His children aren’t perfect. Sometimes, the fear portion of fatherhood needs to be put to use. If a punishment is in order for some huge act of disobedience, he applies specific disciplinary guidelines. He and the child move to a different room for privacy, and they discuss what went wrong with the child’s behavior. Dad explains the seriousness of the “crime,” and makes sure the child knows why he or she will be receiving serious consequences. Lots of hugs before and after consequences are administered.

 

This is the relationship our Father in heaven wants with us.

 

God loves His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, and He loves us, His adopted children, far better than my son loves his children. We know He loves us.  We also know rebellion results in negative consequences, and we know the power He wields.

Fear and love exist together.

Like my granddaughters, we want the approval of our Father.  We want to please Him, and while we fear His disapproval when we do something wrong, it’s the disappointment in ourselves that breaks us. We deserve punishment, and we fear it, but that loneliness when we feel separated from our Father is even worse. We want His love back.

But we’ve never lost it!

Every good parent understands how much they love their child even when administering punishment, and God is the best parent of all.

Of course, He still loves us!

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