Why should I serve God?

For many the word "fear" is not a word they would choose to be around or even deal with. Just the mention of the word conjures up images and brings to mind terrifying situations that we have experienced. But, it is precisely this word that I want to reflect on today. One of many responses that a person may receive when talking about following God or serving God is this. ?why would I serve a God that I have to be afraid of?? At first glance, that seems logical, but after further inspection we see a great hole in the logic. The book of Proverbs chapter 9 verse 10 says that ?The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.? It is wise to fear the Lord. Before you start thinking about lightning bolts of judgment being hurled down, think about this. In your life there are people that you love and there are people that you respect. When we think about fearing God, think of it like this. The love of God plus the respect of God equals the fear of God.

When we look at it like this, it makes a little more sense to us. We love God. There are things that God has and does for us that are absolutely amazing. So, we love that part. But, we have to understand also that we must respect what he says. When God is directing us, he is not doing so as a dictator but rather a loving father who is guiding us down the right path. With each step we take, we weigh the two ? love and respect. Are our steps in line with what his word has told us? Are we walking our lives in the love of God and showing his love to others? Scripture tells us ?be ye holy for I am holy.? God?s standard is perfection and nothing short of perfection will do. That's a huge standard, but God knew that we could not attain that standard even on our best day, so he sent his son to die for you and me.

The greatest evidence of the fear of God is complete obedience to God. Our lives are here for a far greater purpose than our enjoyment. We have been given an opportunity to be used to make a difference in the lives of others. First, we direct them to Christ and then we continue along the journey called life with one another helping them just as Jesus Christ demonstrated as he set up the early church. Every decision that was made was held next to the light of Scripture and if it did not ring true, it simply was not done. Fear of the Lord is a wonderful thing. It puts our hearts where they need to be and establishes the importance of God?s direction in our life. We are not terrified of God but rather we hold him in such high regard that we want to do nothing to offend him.