FEAR THIS…

As Christians, we have chosen to follow the unusual rather than the accepted path of the world.  Jesus said…

“13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-4 NIV

The truth is that following God is unusual; it’s not the norm.  In the verse you just read Jesus said that living for God is the way of the few.  It is not the norm.  Most people do not follow the Bible or respect God, or fear God.  I want to share with you two conflicting truths:

The first truth is that it’s impossible for the world (for people) to survive & thrive without God. 

The second truth is that it is normal for people to try and live without God and the Bible.  Which means most people will not survive their sin, nor will they enjoy the blessings of that eternal love relationship that we can have with Him.

I’m not saying this because I want to be part of some exclusive group or church.  I’m just stating a sad reality; it’s just not the norm for people to live for God.  And here is why I think that is the case… Most people do not fear God. 

What I mean by “fear” is that they do not respect God; they do not appreciate that God loves them and wants to save them.  Without God, we are in trouble.  God is our only hope!  I heard a story about a first grader who stood up in front of his class to give his very first speech, “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.” He said, “I’m going to be a lion tamer and have lots of fierce lions. I’ll walk into the cage and they will roar.” He paused for a moment, thinking through what he just said, then added, “But of course I’ll have my Mommy with me.”  Children are brave when their parents are around, but when a child feels lost or alone, they get scared.  Why?  Because they believe that the only hope they have, the only place that is safe is with mom and dad.  They have godly fear of their parents.  The fear I’m talking about is about having an appreciation of that special relationship that a child has with his or her parents.  That fear drives them to stay near to parents, to want to please their parents, and to obey their parents.  If we can learn to fear God the way a child fears their parents, it means we have found that small gate, that narrow road, that path too few people choose to follow.  If we fear God, we will joyfully follow that wonderful and unusual journey that leads to life. 

- Vic