When it comes to the classics, my knowledge is rudimentary at best. In short I don’t know my Arcas from my Elpenor. But I am aware of the story of the Sirens and how, whilst the crew of his ship plugged their ears with beeswax, rendering them unable to hear their beguiling song, Odysseus had himself bound to the ship’s mast. For whilst he was still able to hear their singing, he was prevented from succumbing to its powerful lure – one which, had he given in to it, would undoubtedly have resulted in his death.
And then there was Orpheus who, when travelling with Jason and the Argonauts through the same strait of water, provided a far better way to nullify the Sirens’ charms. Rather than just striving to avoid falling into temptation, Orpheus played his lyre so beautifully that his music outshone that of the Sirens and thus made it far less appealing.
As such, a greater affection has expelled one that was lesser – in just the way that Thomas Chalmers explained, in his sermon The Expulsive Power of a New Affection, that our hearts must ultimately be transformed, not just by having lesser unwelcome desires removed, but by having a greater and far more satisfying one displace them.
And so I can’t help wondering if something similar might be said about what frightens us. Would our fears be, if not expelled, very much lessened if they were put into perspective by one that is even greater?
Specifically the fear of God.
So what does it mean to fear God? Well, at the very least, it has something to do with being wise – for it says as much in scripture. But whilst it’s good to be told that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, it rather begs the question as to how that wisdom subsequently develops.
Because whilst it is easy to understand why a sinner should be fearful in the presence of a holy God, one who is justly angry at our wrongdoing, the Bible also tells us that the fear of God is something to be desired and, what’s more, that it is only in knowing ourselves forgiven that we can more fully fear Him in the way that we ought. Indeed we are told that the point of our forgiveness is, to some extent at least, that the LORD may be feared. [Psalm 130:4]
And so it must be the case that there are different ways in which the fear of the LORD can be understood. For whereas Hebrews 10:31 says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, referring here to those who persistently sin and reject the salvation made available by Christ’s sacrifice, in 2 Samuel 24:14, King David, aware of and sorry for his own wrongdoing, prefers to fall into the hands of God – ‘for his mercy is great’ – than into the hands of men.
All of which means that when we are conscious of all that we do that displeases Him, we would be wise to run, not away from Him, as we may understandably be tempted, but, paradoxically perhaps, towards Him in order that we might find ourselves hidden in Christ.
So rather than despairing at our own poor performance, we should instead fix our eyes on Jesus – the one who, by enduring the cross, has borne God’s wrath at our sin, so that, if we are in Him, it will never fall on us. And then, with our sins forgiven as a result of Jesus’ substitutionary death, we can stand before Almighty God, not in abject terror, but in reverent fear, delighting in the beauty of His holiness and earnestly desiring to honour Him in the way that we live our lives.
And what’s more, though we will undoubtedly continue to fall short of His perfect will for our lives – which is to make us more like Jesus – we will know, with absolute confidence, that as our loving Heavenly Father, His infinite goodness and new-every-morning mercy will continue to follow us all our days.
Which in turn means that, when our time comes to die, we need not fear death – the one thing that, more than any other, we would otherwise be right to be frightened of.
For when the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ [1 Corinthians 15:54-55]
Related posts:
To read ‘On NOT being afraid at Halloween’, click here
To read ‘Fear not, it’s Halloween’, click here
To read ‘Monsters’, click here
