Let Us Embrace Holy Fear And Holy Delight

In Psalm 112 we read, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands….”

This one line from Sacred Scripture can give us much guidance as we make our way through life.

There are two distinct tracks to review here – holy fear and holy delight.  In today’s world, we seem to ignore the first and parse out the second.  Holy fear is an idea that many modern Christians seem to gloss over, if not fully reject.  Why would we fear the Lord who is all loving?  Why would we fear our divine Creator?

It is here that we need to look at holy fear under the auspices of respect or, more appropriately, reverence.  If we truly think about our belief in a Being that has created, sustained and saved His creation from self-imposed darkness, then how can we not stand (or more appropriately prostrate ourselves) before our God who simply IS such awesome power?  Taking this one step further, this Being who has imposed creation on nothingness through His Divine Will also has the power – and right – to impose nothingness on His creation through this same Will (i.e. the power to create and the right to destroy).  

It is in this context that God reaches into our meager (in comparison) existence and lifts us out of our lowliness to share in His existence, just as any parent would for his or her child.  It is this understanding of our Father’s full presence that sets us back on our heels (in fear) and causes us to wonder at the One who loves all of His creation so much that He has Himself bridged the great abyss between (our) imperfection and (His) regality.

Once we truly understand and internalize (or make our own) this understanding of our relationship with God, we are suddenly filled with the hope and wonder of a future united to this Divine Life. We not only embrace God’s divine plan for humanity (and each of us individually), but we also take our delight and satisfaction in the very commands that He imparts to us. We now see with new eyes that God alone knows not only that which will give us great joy but, more importantly, that which will push us individually to the very satisfaction of our creation.

My Lord and my God…. These may be the only words that I can utter when faced with such awesome and terrible wonder.  I wish you all, my brothers and sisters, well.