Scripture:
I remember in a Sunday school class a question went out asking why we believe. I thought for a moment and stated the only reason I am a believer is because I fear going to Hell. They denied my answer and upon reflection of it I decided that was the truth. What came out of that fear is my walk with Christ.
Something that has puzzled me over the years is why would God want us to fear Him. After all people tend not to love something or someone they fear. As Yoda so eloquently put it in Star Wars "...fear leads to hate..." I have found that fear can lead not only to hate but to resentment as well. Once we begin to resent and hate we will not follow.
It wasn't until I was an adult with my own children that I learned that what God wants is not for us to fear Him but to respect Him. I am not sure why the translations use fear instead of respect. However, with this new understanding about what is intended I better understand what is meant. God doesn't want us to fear him in the since of being scared. He wants us to respect Him and to love Him with all our hearts, all our being, and all our strength. In Luke 10:27 Jesus tells us "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Remember God loved us first. God loves us so much He gave of Himself. Jesus was born and lived among man. Jesus suffered and died for our sins. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The wages of our sins is death, eternal separation from God. Christ paid that debt for each and everyone of us. We do not need to fear God. Instead we need to respect and love God for He gave us everything...
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