the fear of the Lord

This past week I've spent some time searching for an answer to this question:

"If we are to have a relationship with God that is rooted in love and grace, where does 'the fear of the Lord' fit in?"

According to the Nelson Study Bible, "The fear of the Lord begins with an awesome awareness of who God is (see Proverbs 2:5) and ends with a proper response to good and evil (see Proverbs 16:6)."

According to Matthew G. Easton (19th century theologian), "The fear of the Lord is, in the Old Testament, used as a designation of true piety (see Proverbs 1:7, Job 28:28, Psalm 19:9). It is a fear conjoined with love and hope, and is therefore not a slavish dread, but rather filial reverence (see Deut. 32:6, Hosea 11:1, Isaiah 1:2, 63:16, 64:8). A holy fear is enjoined also in the New Testament as a preventative of carelessness in religion, and as an incentive to penitence (Matthew 10:28, 2 Cor. 5:11, 7:1, Phil. 2:12, Eph. 5:21, Heb. 12:28, 29)."

Through reading the above Bible verses and more, I came to see that "the fear of the Lord" is a good thing that develops through a relationship with God. To know God is to fear (revere) Him.

Developing a relationship with God, or a "fear of the Lord" if you will, brings many benefits to a person's life.

• It brings wisdom (Job 28:28, Psalm 111:10)
• It brings knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)
• In combination with humility, it brings riches, honor and life (Proverbs 22:4)
• In combination with God's law (Psalm 19:7-10):

• It converts our souls and pulls our lives together

  It simplifies things and points us in the right direction

  It shows us the way to true joy

  It opens and enlightens our eyes

  It comes with a lifetime guarantee

  It reveals the truth to us fully and accurately

• And with truth comes freedom! (John 8:32)