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shuhak · M
Can one love God without fearing Him?
Well, first off one has to know what is meant by “fear”. Is it fear as in “being afraid of”, or fear as in “respect, honor”?
We fear (are afraid of) something because we perceive it to be a threat to us. If a child was told not to go into the garage, but then went in anyway … and ended up breaking dad’s new power tool, they’d probably be afraid. They know they did wrong and they fear the punishment (dad is gonna be MAD!). Likewise, if one is afraid of God, then they perceive Him to be a threat.
When we love something, we cherish it. It has meaning or value to us. I mean not many people love a used Kleenex. They simply discard it. However, you probably won’t toss your 2 year old granddaughter in the trash (you know, the granddaughter who calls you gam-ga.) So if one loves God, then they consider Him to have meaning or value.
God is a wee bit more powerful than we are. After all, He did create everything... the majestic mountains, the deep oceans, planets, stars, galaxies…. The sheer complexity and beauty of this universe is utterly mind-blowing. We are but insignificant specks of dust on an insignificant planet that is an insignificant speck in a galaxy, which is barely a speck of light in a vast and expanding universe. And yet the mighty God who created all this wants a relationship with us. He wants us to love Him. Wow! If we truly love God, how can we NOT but fear (respect, honor) Him? The two go hand in hand.
So, “can one love God without fearing (respecting, honoring) Him?” The answer is no. The two are inseparable.
Well, first off one has to know what is meant by “fear”. Is it fear as in “being afraid of”, or fear as in “respect, honor”?
We fear (are afraid of) something because we perceive it to be a threat to us. If a child was told not to go into the garage, but then went in anyway … and ended up breaking dad’s new power tool, they’d probably be afraid. They know they did wrong and they fear the punishment (dad is gonna be MAD!). Likewise, if one is afraid of God, then they perceive Him to be a threat.
When we love something, we cherish it. It has meaning or value to us. I mean not many people love a used Kleenex. They simply discard it. However, you probably won’t toss your 2 year old granddaughter in the trash (you know, the granddaughter who calls you gam-ga.) So if one loves God, then they consider Him to have meaning or value.
God is a wee bit more powerful than we are. After all, He did create everything... the majestic mountains, the deep oceans, planets, stars, galaxies…. The sheer complexity and beauty of this universe is utterly mind-blowing. We are but insignificant specks of dust on an insignificant planet that is an insignificant speck in a galaxy, which is barely a speck of light in a vast and expanding universe. And yet the mighty God who created all this wants a relationship with us. He wants us to love Him. Wow! If we truly love God, how can we NOT but fear (respect, honor) Him? The two go hand in hand.
So, “can one love God without fearing (respecting, honoring) Him?” The answer is no. The two are inseparable.