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“His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.” Luke 1: 50
…to those who fear Him, does this mean that we are supposed to fear God? Does this mean that we have to be scared of what God wants for us and wants to do for us? Should we be sitting afraid at every moment? Although that is what it seems to be saying in the Bible, “fear of God,” is something different than being afraid or scared of Him.
We are supposed to have a natural fear of God. How can fear be natural? Well, when we think about it, God is all-powerful, all merciful, and all giving and mighty. He can do all things. Shouldn’t there be some sort of healthy fear in us of someone that can change our lives in an instant? Shouldn’t there be some awe to how Moses parted the Sea? To how there was burning bush? To how Jesus rose from the dead? To how a man was all of sudden no longer blind? Or paralyzed? This is the fear the Lord wants, a natural fear, which is the awe and wonder of God’s majesty.
When we have this awe and wonder of God’s majesty, there is some sort of ‘fear’ in us that we try to figure out where it comes from. This is the healthy fear that the Lord wants us to have.
“But the LORD’s mercy is from age to age, toward those who fear him.
His salvation is for the children’s children”
Psalms 103:17
And secondly, the Lord’s mercy didn’t just jump up one day and appear, and then the Lord decided everyone could have it. Um, no. He decided that everyone could have it from the get go. It’s been around forever. Your grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents and so on have all had the same opportunity that we are given at Baptism as well.
Why did He do this? So that everyone could be a part of Salvation, with Him. Salvation isn’t a popularity contest of who gets to be at the party in the end, it’s a commitment with the Lord. A commitment that as long as we still have faith in the awe and wonder of His majesty, our salvation is in Him.
