Living in the Spirit

August 11, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 34:9-14
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life,
   and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
   and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
   seek peace, and pursue it.

First, let us deal with the idea of fearing the Lord. Fear is the correct word, which concerning God means to be morally, reverent*.  Fear for most of us, I think, constitutes a concern for our safety. Fear of the Lord means precisely the opposite. It is the recognition that a being exists that offers us everlasting protection, providing us unconditional love. This is the message of God’s agents often quoted in the Bible, starting with “fear not” who transmit instructions from God directing our work.

How do we respond to something so mindboggling beyond our imaginations? The above-quoted Psalmist advises seeking this being who offers to teach us the ways of love doing good and seeking peace. This Psalm highlights both physical and spiritual realities—our animal nature experiences hunger for food necessary to support life. Our spiritual side must also be fed if we are to fulfill our calling as children of God to love and be loved, do good and enable good amid all of God’s creation, as we dwell in peace one with the other. Let it be so.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to “fear not” as we step out into the world, transmitting your love to one another and all others. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3373.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.