Proverbs says the Fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Solomon sees the possession of wisdom as the key to living a blessed life. Wisdom isn’t just about knowledge, but it’s insight into the secrets of how life in The Lord works. He says that it is a more than the accumulation of great wealth. If all that is true, then the apprehension of wisdom is imperative. We must therefore have a real clarity about what it means to fear The Lord. To fear the Lord can’t mean being terrified of the wrath and rejection of God, who has committed to loving us fiercely, unconditionally, and endlessly. God doesn’t want us to live terrified in our relationship with Him. Allow me to share what I’ve come to believe the Fear of The Lord is. For one, Ecclesiastes (which is the great book defining the Fear of The Lord) tells us that it is to live with the clear understanding that all that we do is in His sight. We live, before His eyes; before His face. Secondly, it means to live knowing that every choice, every response of our heart, has eternal value, and significance. I’m not talking about where we live in eternity. That was settled in your New Birth. Thirdly, it means in light of those first two things, I live to please Him, and love Him one day at a time in all the events and opportunities that make up a day. It is to live to bring Him pleasure; to love Him with all my heart, in each situation, and temptation, knowing His face is always turned toward me. To ravish His heart, not just as a life quest, but as my ‘today’ passion, actually as my ‘this moment’ passion sums up The Fear of The Lord. When this is your true purpose in life then wisdom flows like a river. You’ll see everything through a different set of eyes, with a different kind of insight.
