Through fear comes the love of the King who heals every ill; for love of him we carry out his will and cherish his commandments.

- Rule of Comghall (Irish, 6th or 8th century)

"And now, Israel,what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD...

- Deuteronomy 10.12, 13

God requires that we fear Him. We don't hear much about fearing God these days (as are frequently wont to observe). But we should fear God for the simple reason of Who He is and who we are. He is holy; we, not so much. He is able to destroy utterly all who transgress His holiness. He has shown us over and over the magnitude and strength of His great power. If we do not fear Him, we just don't know Him. Or ourselves.

In fear of Him, then, the walk in His ways, so as to be pleasing to Him. And what do we find? That not only does He not destroy us, but He lavishes us with abundant good things, none of which we deserve, all of which contribute to joy and fulfillment in life. He graciously provides for us and causes His love to abound toward us.

And that leads us to love Him. When we love Him we will take all His words as true and reliable and will keep them because of our great love for Him.

This is best accomplished in community ("you" in our text is plural). We need one another in order to move from fear to love and obedience. As we encourage one another, hold one another accountable, set an example for one another, and help one another in all our work, our love for our King grows stronger and stronger, and for our fellow servants as well.

It seems inconceivable that real, abiding love could grow from fear, but it does. You will never love the Lord as much as you could if you do not first learn to fear Him as much as He deserves. Fear Him, obey Him, find Him full of grace and abundance, and then watch how your love for Him grows more and more!

Today in ReVision: Proof of Sin - It's more than just littering.

This Week's Download: Soul Friends - Got none? Get one!

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.