The Bible is full of paradoxes. God has NOT given us the spirit of fear. Yet the Bible tells us to fear Him. It’s either we fear men/demons or we fear Him.
The Bible doesn’t say that perfect Love drives out all fears. It says that perfect Love “drives out fear....” The context of fear in this passage has to do with punishment/torment (1 John 4:18). Since God’s nature is not about tormenting anyone, His Love does not cast out the fear of the Lord.
Therefore, fearing God can co-exist with loving Him. It is not either or. It is both. Someone said this about the fear of God —— imagine you standing beside the God of the Universe and realise how BIG He is beside you. It is about standing in awe of who He is and show reverence.
If we don’t understand this, we will understand when we become parents.
It is healthy for a child to fear his father, yet love him at the same time. Without such healthy fear, there won’t be any respect for the father. Loving the father encompasses reverence. If my son does not fear me as his father, I have lost every impact on his life. My son must recognise that I am “bigger” than him and thus, he will respect my views and wisdom because I “know more than him.”
Fear of God does the same thing to us. It causes us to surrender and yield to Him instead of doing everything whatsoever according to our own rationale.
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