If we do not fear God,
We do not know God.
If we do not trust that the God that we fear loves us,
We do not know God.
If we do not love this God that we fear for loving us,
We have not known God.
For without this fear - respect, we cannot perceive love;
And unless we perceive love, we cannot return it;
And unless we return it, we cannot experience it;
And unless we experience it, we cannot truly know it.
For to me, worship is the humble drawing near to God in sober fear-touched reverence of His awe-full Holiness as our Creator, Judge, and King, with the thankful anticipation of His goodness, mercy, and blessing as our Father, Redeemer, and Friend. Only from this attitude of heart, comes any real joy, peace, and security for me. For without first seeking to offer Him the proper respect due His Holy Person, we cannot truly perceive or understand this experiential dimension of love that He desires to give us. Our reward as His children, it seems, is tied to the honor and respect of our hearts that we offer to Him. We cannot truly mature as children of our Father unless we first learn to humbly honor our Father for who He truly is. This truth is expressed by Jesus in a parable that He told:
Luke 18:13-14 …the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Unless we first perceive the cool superficiality of our hearts in the light of His Holiness, it is doubtful that we will earnestly seek to experience the confirming warmth of His Heart.
Teach your children to respect and love God. Without respect and honor for His Holy Person we create a impotent and permissive image of God in our children's minds. Without the knowledge of His love to us and our love returned to Him we create a distant and unmerciful image of Him. Both are needed to have to help our children begin to know God aright and the depth and ongoing discovery of neither is ever exhaustible.
