The Fear of God

In more than a hundred ways we know how to say, “That will put the fear of God in them.”  Except it rarely works.  Rarely does anything “put the fear of God” in someone.  Fear?  Yes, but not, usually, the fear of God. 



As long as we emphasize our belief in “The Lord God Almighty,” and sing our praise to the Almighty King, we communicate a God who is to be feared.  I don’t find any “good news” in this.  This is not a good word, not a good story.  If taken seriously, we are left in fear of dealing with this God.  He is best avoided as much as possible.





When people think of the word, god, almost universally their minds mean, above everything else, “power.”  A god, almost by definition, can do anything.  God is omnipotent, all powerful.  Except for those who believe that more than one god exists, in which case their gods are understood hierarchically and ranked by their relative power.



So, assuming that down in our gut, the word, “god,” denotes the ultimate power–The Force–it is good news to learn that the Christian God is love.  Essentially love.  Love is the essence of this God who is known in Jesus of Nazareth.  If God is love, then power is subordinated to love; God’s power is the power of love.



Since “God is love” and “God is holy,” we are saved from sentimental, romantic, or any sort of “warm and fuzzy” love.  The biblical God is holy love, that is, love of a totally other kind.



What does that mean?  A totally different kind of love might be wonderful, or it might be not so wonderful.  What is a “holy” love?  What does it look like?  How does it act?  And, at least as much to the point is the question of what I mean by this common word, love.