Many people, especially in the West, denounce god as being out of touch with human circumstances; being out of touch with their most personal longing and heartbreak. So if god is distant and out of touch then why would I, the Human, attempt to form a relationship. Why make the attempt if there will not be shared love and intimacy between me and my god?
Beyond the fear of intimacy is the simple “fear of god,” which many faith traditions state is the proper stance between devotee and the divine. We are to fear god as we approach him|her.
In most cases the fear of god is a hook created and nourished by the priest class of any religion, to keep the adherents in line.
Yet, is it possible to love what you fear? You probably have that answer held within your own heart.
Isaiah 66:2: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word”
Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”
Proverbs 3:7: “Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil”
So the Dictionary says that “fear is to be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening.” Yet the archaic meaning is stated to be: “regard (God) with reverence and awe.
Well those are two quite different things. One is the arbitrary fear of the action of another; the second is a fear that arises because of the reverence and awe that wells up in the soul of the human when they encounter the indwelling presence of the All.
In the second, in the presence of the One, we are “slain in our spirit,” and awed by the beauty and majesty that surrounds God, and this causes us to humble ourselves in the presence of the Holy. And as a Human, we have all rolled in the mud a few times, and we perceive this in ourselves, in the presence of the One, we develop a sense of fear because we know within our soul that we have offended the Holy nature of God.
Jesus the Nazarene, the Phoenician Essene, beautifully illustrated the relationship between man and god in the parable of the Lost Son.
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
So God is the “father” in this parable and the the sons represent the Human condition. It precisely shows what kind of heart we are to have as we approach our Father. The older son has lived in the presence and blessing of his Father his entire life. He self righteously believes that his life path, his discipline, his obedience and actions are higher and better than his younger brother; and in earthly terms he is right. Yet his perception is filling his being with both pride and self-satisfaction.
The oldest son has not the proper “fear” of his father because their relationship has become commonplace and trite. The older son faces no loss, in pursuing a relationship with his father. In fact, the older son is so disdainful of his father and lacking in compassion for his brother that he resents the acts of compassion. He is caught up in the pride of his own “I.”
The younger son so fears the reaction of his father to his return into his presence that he debates within himself. He has done terrible things and squandered his inheritance. Yet there is only one path that can be taken to return to the grace and presence of his father. Many people would not take this path. They would rather suffer in misery, rather then to repent and humbly seek the forgiveness of their father. Their pride would have them continue to suffer rather than to enter into the presence of their father which would require them to humble their spirit.
Jesus teaches us though this most beautiful parable that God is forgiving and compassionate toward his children. God is willing to put all of our sins in the past because of his|her great love of us!
This is the good news of the gospel. Amen.
We as the human need to face our fear of God, that dwells within us because we are often depraved and evil, and our consciousness, the presence of God within us, informs us of this. And so rightly, we fear God.
Yet, if we are ever to become truly one with God, to be imbued with the power and presence of the Spirit of God, we the Human must humble ourselves in order to obtain the blessing of the indwelling power of being in God’s presence.
And when we humble ourselves, the One, Our father rushes out to meet us, before we have even arrived. When we make the spiritual turn…God runs toward us with compassion and love.
Jesus has told us that God is love, always compassionate and waiting for your return; so long as you are honest with yourself, humble and self-aware of your faults, the full love, power and light of God will be directed toward you. You are forever a child of God. The emanation of the very substance of God.
So my beloved, face your “fear” of rejection by God. I assure you that when you turn around, and direct your path toward the One, he will heal you, anoint you, and reintegrate you within his|her presence. Jesus was forever telling the crowds that followed him to “fear not”. He did this because we must face and slay our fears in order to enter the God state of Rest.
There is a fear that should be within us and that is the fear that we might somehow be separated from God.
Romans 8: “14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory…38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”