Thought of the Day May 28, 2020 Fear of the Lord
We read in
the Scriptures that Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Fear, in this
sense, is not the normal understanding of the word. There are many experiences
of human fear: fear of failure, of the lost of goods, of heights, of wild
animals, etc. This is called servile fear, because it some how makes us a slave
of something created.
Then there
is what is understood as filial fear. It is not fear as much as awe and respect
of the other, namely God. How often we read in the Scriptures God saying “Fear
not.” God does not want us to be afraid of him but to be in a filial
relationship with him. It is not a relationship of equality but of dependence
of the creature on the Creator, the child on the parent, the disciple on the
Lord. We recognize who God is and who we are. We respond to who God is with
reverential awe, filled with praise, adoration, thanksgiving and worship.
The charism
of the Spirit associated with the gift of Fear of the Lord is praying in
tongues. Our human words are inadequate to express our awe of God, so we turn
to the Holy Spirit to express in utterances a prayer pleasing and acceptable to
God.
The fruit of
the Spirit that Fear of the Lord produces is love, peace and joy. For to be humbly in the presence of the Lord brings these fruits to the surface with overwhelming power. Pray that we may grow in the gift of the Fear of the Lord with the hope that we may be in his presence forever. Come, Holy Spirit, come!
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