Fear of the Lord

 A friend posted a question about the "fear of the Lord", and it really got me thinking about it.

So I think that being a parent has helped me to understand that my kids -- especially when younger -- have a certain kind of "fear" about me as the one who usually disciplines them. Like, if a kid says something rude to Naomi, or hits a sibling in anger, they know that Daddy is going to come home and discipline them. When they are really little they might even run and hide, trying to escape punishment. In an interesting parallel, the Lord warns Israel in the OT that they should be afraid of the judgement of God, that will fall on them if they persist in worshipping idols, for example.

But then I'm reminded that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," but is perhaps not the _end_ of wisdom. It's not inappropriate for someone who isn't a Christian to be aware of the judgment of God, and fears it, and so repents and trusts in Christ. But then John says, "Perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." I think John is talking about the normal initial fear of the Lord, just based on fear of punishment, which turns into a richer relationship, turns into reciprocal love, as we know and understand our heavenly Father better, and understand his love for us through Christ. And if his use of "perfect" can be understood as "complete", there's a natural progression from "fear" in the "beginning" to "love" when our understanding of him is "complete".

We can still talk about how "fear" is like awe or overwhelming wonder, but I think it takes away from the ordinary meaning of the word, takes away from a normal progression from "fear of his righteous punishment and judgement" to "loving and enthusiastic obedience to his commands, in thankfulness".