June 24, 2018 - Inscriptions From The Heart

June 24, 2018
Doug Bennyson 

The Reverential Fear Gas

One of the things I cannot forget growing up was being disciplined at home by my father. My family, like most of the families from my culture, put a lot of emphasis on discipline. My older brother was one of the best-behaved children a parent could ever ask for. When it came to me I was the biggest trouble maker there was. Both of us had to be disciplined in different ways. We used to have time outs, spanks, use of the stick, you name it we had it. We even had a curfew time to return home after playing outside with our friends late into our teenage years.

It’s interesting what fear can make a person do. Who we fear, compels us to do what the person wants us to do. We tend to work within the boundaries we are placed in when it comes to fearing someone. As we grew up the spanks, time outs, use of the stick stopped but one on one talks increased. To me personally this was more traumatizing than the other forms of discipline we received when we were kids. At the end of the one on one conversation I felt bad that I hurt my father when I knew I made a mistake. When I realized this the apology came straight from my heart.

We loved our dad. More than how much we loved him, we knew he loved us more and this was resonated through all the sacrifices he did for us. All my father wanted was for us to do what was right and for us to stay away from what would potentially harm or hurt us. There always seems to be a strange beauty when we are disciplined by the one who loves us. Discipline can be painful. But the end goal of discipline is to teach one to do what is right and shun away from doing what is wrong. But when we are disciplined by the one who loves us, as we grow old this fear turns into a deep reverence. As we mature, reverential fear of someone compels/reminds us to strongly do what is right and convicts us deeply when we do something wrong.

Proverbs 3:12 reads as follows, “For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” When God came to meet His people in Exodus 20:18-21 this is what happened, “All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.”

This is something I want to challenge us today with. Do we understand that the fear of God enables and empowers us to not do what is wrong? Are we people who are standing at a distance or are we people who are walking into the thick cloud? Do we trust him enough when He is disciplining us?