There is no way God wants us to be scared of Him, right? Well, think again. God purposely frightened the Israelites in Exodus 20. They begged Moses to speak to them (instead of God). God wanted them to fear Him. They were the “children” of Israel and needed to learn to fear their heavenly Father. Solomon said that fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
As a child, I feared my dad. I didn’t want him to spank me, so I obeyed him. However, as I grew up, I became bigger and stronger than my dad. I no longer feared him, but I obeyed him! Why? Now it was because of love, not because of fear.
God was teaching the “children” of Israel to fear Him. He was doing with them what we as parents do with our children. They are not capable of jumping right to a “love-obedience” relationship. That is too advanced a concept for a child. Rather, they obey because of fear. This was God’s approach, and it works with children as well.
Therefore, people obey because of two reasons: (1) Fear – a more immature motivation for obedience, and (2) Love – a superior, mature kind of motivation that leads to obedience.
John made an interesting statement. He said that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). I don’t think I can say I’ve reached that “perfect love” stage, but that is my goal. When our lives are characterized by obedience, we have no reason to be scared of God. Judgment Day will be a day of victory.
