By: Elizabeth Haarberg

…But Also God is Love

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God is love but we are also to fear the Lord. How do we reconcile these two thoughts?

“…God is love.” 1 John 4:8 English Standard Version

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,” Psalm 112:1 ESV

“Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you,” Isaiah 43:4 ESV

“You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.” Psalm 115:11 ESV

I am reminded occasionally that the fear of the Lord is real. Last night, lightning was so close to our house that it caused the electricity to surge and one of the alarms went off. The thunder was so loud it sounded like it was in my bedroom. I was well aware of the fear of the Lord in that moment.

Add to the love/fear equation that we are not supposed to be afraid of anything, except God.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 ESV

God is Love, and he is also powerful. The truth is that God has the power to create and destroy, to love and cause people to tremble. Trying to figure out how God works, ticks, moves, is not possible.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8 ESV

Not only do we not know how God thinks, but He also doesn’t scream like the world screams. God is quiet and talks to us in a whisper.

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” 1 Kings 19:12 ESV

Being still and quiet is crucial to being able to hear what God is saying to us. Being still can help us sort through the idea of ‘God is love’ and ‘fear the Lord’ so we can draw close to Jesus, and He can draw close to us.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado