A little over a year ago, our small group from church did a marriage retreat where we discussed that love best motivates the woman and respect best motivates the man. We came to the conclusion that we all need love and respect, but it's about knowing your spouse and being willing to find the right balance between the two.
In the same way, a balance must be struck between love and reverence for God. Our small group is now studying Crazy Love by Francis Chan. You might gather from the title that the book is all about God's crazy love for us. I'm sure we'll get to that, but we just covered the Preface and Chapter 1 this week, and I was reminded with a sharp kick in the pants (self-inflicted) that the balance in my life between reverence for God and love for God is off.
Reverence means to show deep respect for someone. Love, as we all know, is an intense feeling of affection. If one is out of whack, the other can take over and either strike fear and trepidation or result in overfamiliarity and disrespect. Furthermore, getting the balance of love and reverence for God correct will automatically lead to the right balance of love and respect for those close to us.
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. -Deuteronomy 10:12
God requires that we fear, or revere, Him and love Him. Obedience and service are automatic outcomes of reverence and love for God.
God is to be loved. We know this to be true. However, we all know what happens after a while in loving relationships ... we become comfortable and even negligent. In marriage, one may forget to take off their shoes at the door though the other has requested it several times. In our interactions with God, we forget to take off our sandals in His presence (Exodus 3). A husband or wife may feel emboldened to pick fights with one another. Likewise, we wrestle with God to get our own way (Genesis 32). Sometimes in marriage we even get so lax as to let other things/activities become more important than our relationship with our spouse. In the same way, when we lose reverence for God, we let idols replace the position where He should stand (Exodus 32).
God is to be loved. We know this to be true. However, we all know what happens after a while in loving relationships ... we become comfortable and even negligent. In marriage, one may forget to take off their shoes at the door though the other has requested it several times. In our interactions with God, we forget to take off our sandals in His presence (Exodus 3). A husband or wife may feel emboldened to pick fights with one another. Likewise, we wrestle with God to get our own way (Genesis 32). Sometimes in marriage we even get so lax as to let other things/activities become more important than our relationship with our spouse. In the same way, when we lose reverence for God, we let idols replace the position where He should stand (Exodus 32).
In relationships built on love, these instances can be overcome with gentle reminders, grace and forgiveness. Likewise, God reminded Moses to remove his sandals, God blessed Jacob in their struggle and God forgave the Israelites of their idolatry (although, not without punishment). There is a loving relationship between God and His children. Having said that, one of the biggest things that can happen when our love for God overpowers our reverence for Him is that we try to accommodate God to our lives rather than fitting ourselves to God. We try to confine God, fit Him into a box that we design, domesticate Him to fit into our lifestyle. When we don't honor God the way we should, it can lead to a whole host of errors!
God is to be revered. The very last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, speaks volumes about reverence for God. God's people were guilty of an enormous amount of offenses, but the underlying theme was that they had simply failed to fear God. The prophet Malachi severely admonishes God's people, but then offers hope:
But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture - Malachi 4:2
It's a lovely picture, isn't it? The healing, radiant sun. Freedom to run and leap in the fields. It is for those who fear His name, for those who revere God.
God has a multitude of characteristics. In the first chapter of Crazy Love the reader is invited to stop and think and remember how big our God is by reviewing some of his characteristics. Certainly God is love (1 John 4:8), but He is oh so much more! To properly revere God, to fear Him, to honor His name, I will end with a reminder of some of God's characteristics:
- God is omniscient, or all-knowing - Hebrews 4:13
- God is omnipresent, or present everywhere - Psalm 139:7-12
- God is omnipotent, all powerful - Luke 18:27
- God is holy - 1 Peter 1:15
- God is eternal - Psalm 102:12, 27
- God is righteous and just - Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 119:137
- God is truth - John 14:6
- God is self-existent - Colossians 1:16
I am so glad to have a God I can never fully grasp! Now "to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 1:25)
*photo courtesy of flickr cc: qthomasbower
post linked up here ...
yes, i enjoyed Crazy Love and Love and Respect.
ReplyDeletefor me, i think, reverence is very similar to wonder. to be in awe of God and the ways He has revealed Himself in all His dealings with man.
this leads me not only to worship, but also (incredibly) to a close, loving, and very personal relationship.
enjoy your book and thanks for sharing at IP! :)
Thank you! Yes, up next is Wonderstruck by Magaret Feinberg, which I believe speaks to the "awe" factor. I have read Organic God by her and really enjoyed it. I love learning new, or learning anew, aspects about God ... they are never-ending!
Deletebecause He first loved us...
ReplyDeleteI liked your thoughts, and love the artwork as well!
Thank you! The artwork is lovely, isn't it?
Deletewow, thank you for these indepth thoughts, and study of LOVE... i am crazy about francis chan's book... bless you!
ReplyDeleteThank you! God bless!
DeleteThis is a very thought-provoking and inspiring devotional; thanks! I'm wondering, though, if I'm convinced that if we get the love-reverence balance with God right, we'll also get it right with man... I'm going to ponder that a bit ;)
ReplyDeleteIt is funny that you are pondering that sentence, because I nearly didn't include it! :-) Admittedly, my thought process could probably have used more explanation. I think as we grow closer to God, loving Him more and learning more about His character, we have greater opportunity to catch small glimpses of His creation, His people, through His eyes. As a result, we increase our love and respect for those around us out of love and reverence for God. I would love to hear your thoughts!
DeleteThanks for the further explanation! Yes, I agree that as we grow closer to God, we see people more through his eyes. But I think how we pray, empathise and think of others is not always directly correlated to how we treat others. I think learning how to love humanity in a God-like way is a skill unto itself. I know some people who don't love God at all (or who so claim) who love people amazingly well, and of course vice-versa. Does that fit what you're saying?
DeleteSorry for the slow response! Yes, that is sooo true. There are many who say they don't love God, but love others better than those who do, and vice versa. We just finished up a series at church today on Making Love Stick. We touched a bit on the love and respect concept ... presented both in Ephesians 5:33 as well as in the Eggrichs' book. It struck me that while God deserves our love and reverence (or respect), we are expected to love and respect others even when it's undeserving. Unconditional love and unconditional respect for others is definitely hard to conquer even if one has love and reverence for God in balance!
DeleteI love the analogy you make between love and respect in our marriages with love and reverence for God. Not sure I've thought about that; excellent insight. As I concentrate this month on slowing down and paying attention to God, it's increasing my reverence for what he does in the little moments.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, seeing your profile picture, my family would all ask me--do you like her hair? To which I would reply--yes! And they'd agree. They're always on the lookout with me for cute short hairstyles. And you've got one. :-)
Thank you for reading!
DeleteAlso, thank you for the nice comment about my hair. So sweet!