Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Psalm 130:4. But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
King Solomon says that before we can be wise, before we can know God, before we can really know anything, we must fear the Lord. Not be afraid of God. Respect him. Be in awe of him. Know him relationally, caring about what he cares about and understanding his character.
King David (Solomon’s father) says in Psalm 130:4 that we fear the Lord when we remember that he forgives us.
Does that sound strange to you? Don’t people usually fear God when they think he is going to punish them and NOT forgive them? But the truth is that you can’t respect God, understand God, or truly have any kind of trusting relationship with God until you see him as a forgiving God.
If you can only see God as a punishing God, then doubtless you be afraid of him and obey him only because you are seeking to avoid his wrath. But when you can see God as the God who has forgiven all of our sins, then you can begin to obey him knowing that he loves you, that he is good, that he has your restoration and your transformation in mind, not your destruction.
But how can we know that we are truly forgiven us of all our sins? Look at the cross of Christ. That is where God punished every sin and forgave every sin simultaneously. That is where God proved his love for us, and satisfied his wrath against us. To look at the cross of Jesus and your union with his cross, your co-crucifixion with Christ, is the beginning of knowledge. In what way? Because we can’t fully understand anything in life without understanding God, and we can’t understand God without first understanding his merciful love for us in Christ’s cross.
In Christ: Do you believe that God has forgiven all your sins? IS there a failure that you are still holding against yourself that you need to lay down at the cross today?
Christ in you: How does knowing that you are fully forgiven allow you to forgive others just as Jesus would?
Pray: Father, it is because you are always kind to me that I can fear you, obey you, and honor you. Help me today to forgive like you forgive. Amen.
To Live is Christ 