As a Christian am I really supposed to fear God? Isn't He all-loving and thus no need to fear Him? Many today think so. However, as I read Luke today I came across 2 interesting verses: 5:26 and 7:16. They state the following in the NASB:
5:26 - The were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen remarkable things today."
7:16 - Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited His people!"
From these two verses, I see a connection between both fear and worship. In other words, its not unusual when we come into the presence of God to fear Him - even in the midst of our worship of Him! That's an amazing thing. To be giving God worship while still done in "fear".
There is a sense in which a "healthy fear of God" is expected and even encouraged. Jesus, Himself, of course told us to fear God too when He said, "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into Hell; yes, I tell you fear Him!" (Lu 12:5). This could not refer to Satan because he has no such authority.
Therefore, I think we can safely say that even as a Christian not only is it a healthy thing to have a fear of God but that even in our worshipping of Him we may at times sense a fear and awe of Him that was similar to those mentioned in 5:26 and 7:16. Our worship of God should be that of amazement and wonder as we ponder His character, goodness, mercy, and love. In our praise of God, we should never lose our fear of Him.
My prayer is that we will learn to do just that.
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