January 26, 2021
Tuesday’s Thoughts on Scripture comes from Psalm 111:10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who practice this have a good understanding. God’s praise endures forever. (ELW)
I spent a significant amount of my young life being afraid of God. Well, when I actually thought about God at all, I connected fear with God. I felt like God would never be satisfied with how much I did because I could not do enough. Or I would never be forgiven for those things I did or did not do. The law seemed overwhelming, and whatever little I did learn about God seemed to reinforce this idea.
Then one day I heard about grace, and the understanding about fear of God took on another tone. Fear, as in respect and awe, was much more understandable and began to put my soul at ease. To respect and be in awe of God would be the beginning of wisdom. After all, God is the creator of all, loves all, has grace and mercy for all, so why would God want us to be afraid? Being afraid causes one to shut down and turn inward, but being in awe can open us up to new possibilities. And to God and all God's children.
Blessings. And prayers.
Oh, I also saw this cartoon today about fishing. It made me smile as I connected it with this past Sunday’s Children’s Message about Jesus calling the disciples to fish for people.
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