Respect
for and acceptance of God’s awesome power and authority is the most basic, most
essential, element of fearing God. We see it in the Hebrews’ response to God’s
appearances and actions during the Exodus. Deuteronomy 5:24-29, Joshua 4:19-24. We also see it in Abraham’s and Job’s acceptance
God’s authority to completely upend their lives. Genesis 22:1-12, Job 1. The Psalms connect fear of the Lord
with being in awe of and submission to God. Psalm 22:23; 33:8-9; 76:7-12; Ps 128:1. This fundamental aspect of fearing God
is also described in the wisdom books. Proverbs 1:20-30 and 24:21-22; Sirach 2:15-17.
Is this still applicable after Jesus
came to us in humility, calling us to Himself with gentleness? Absolutely.
Jesus himself tells us that we must
continue to fear God’s awesome power. Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5. The Apostles, those closest to Him, displayed
and taught this, both before and after His resurrection/ascension. Luke 5:9-11, Matthew 28:16-17, Acts 9:3-7, Philippians 2:9-12, 1 Peter 5:6, Revelation 1:17-18. Others who encountered Jesus displayed
it. Matthew 2:11-12, Mark 5:32-33, Luke 8:43-48. It continues right now in heaven. Revelation 14:7.
So how do we reconcile the continuing
need to recognize and respect God’s truly awesome authority with Jesus’ loving
and approachable nature? Two sets of
verses come to mind.
The first is Matthew
11:28-30:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will
give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy
and My burden is light.” (NASB)
The
second is Luke 18:15-17:
And they were bringing even their babies to Him so He would
touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But
Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly
I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not
enter it at all.” (NASB).
In both, Jesus expressly invites us to
approach him in close, intimate, ways. Indeed, in the Luke passage He acts to
remove barriers to Him.
Yet in both, he demands recognition of
and submission to His authority. The yoke and burden in the Matthew passage
show that we must submit to His
direction and do His work. See Sirach
6:23-31.
And babies, the exemplar Jesus uses in the Luke passage, are subject to adults’
complete control. So although we can freely approach God through Jesus, we must
still recognize and submit to His complete authority.