In my life I often procrastinate and react to situations rather than pressing continually toward ‘the upward calling of God’. I wake up in the morning with no sense of urgency. When we fell in the garden, we now had to toil against the ground. This labor is not easy and often we wish we could live a life free from work. Lately I’ve been reflecing on these ideas.
God understands man and in His communication addresses this. God speaks far more than we as Christians ever seem to about the idea of ‘fearing Him’. We see that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). Or as we read the ending of Ecclesiastes as Solomon discusses meaning and purpose we read that “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. ” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Do we fear God? Do we read this and gag, rejecting the concept that we should ever fear God. Many of us want to say, ‘but wait God is love’ or that fear just means respect. Re-read the verses in scripture on fear and quickly you will see these do not accurately portray the whole. Yes God loves us and we are to have a respect for Him, but if we desire to see a proper response to God, read Isaiah 6:5 as he is visited by God:
Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
My prayer is to reflect on this idea of fear and live with a sense of urgency. This urgency should move me from a place of apathy to one of living out the kindgom. It should spread from my inner-being to my actions, evangelism and love for those around me. I should live with a constant healthy sense of urgency responding to a God who has demonstrated His love for me by entering into space and time and taking my sin upon his back. We truly have an awesome God to worship and respond to.
