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Are we supposed to fear God? And if we did, would that be a good thing?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve already tried that out, as over the years my view of God left little separation between him and an evil clown from a Stephen King movie.<\/p>\n
In fact, my fear of God began the day I was introduced to him as a kid. I was the depraved sinner who was so\u00a0bad inside that I had\u00a0earned an eternity of torment\u2013 even though the brain that governs my decision making hadn\u2019t finished developing yet. And not only had I already earned an eternity in the flames of hell\u2013 but my \u201cloving\u201d Heavenly Father was prepared to toss me into the lake of fire himself.<\/p>\n
Of course, it gets worse. Being tossed into a lake of molten lava wouldn\u2019t even kill me\u2013 the punishment the seven-year-old version of me had earned was so severe, that I would actually live forever and ever and ever, being tortured and burned alive in the flames of God\u2019s hell.<\/p>\n
Combine that with the fact that the Bible seems to repeatedly describe having \u201cfear\u201d of God as a good thing, I bought into the narrative hook, line, and sinker.<\/p>\n
I had deep fear of God and supposedly, that was the \u201cbeginning of all wisdom.\u201d However, instead of that fear being the beginning of wisdom it actually marked the day that functionally ended the very thing I was taught I had been created for: to have a relationship with God.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s be honest: How does one have a \u201crelationship\u201d with someone so\u00a0frightening that they might as well have come out of a Stephen King novel?<\/p>\n
I really have no idea how it\u2019s done. I\u2019m not interested in even reading a book or watching a movie where the main character deliberately tortures and hurts people, let alone attempt to have some sort of relationship in real-life with someone like that. Even were one to attempt to have a relationship with someone who is willing to torture and hurt others, I don\u2019t see how it could be a genuine or authentic relationship unless they too, took pleasure in the intentional torment of others.<\/em><\/p>\n Growing up I was taught there was good news in this story: Jesus could save me from what his dad wanted to do to me, because he took a violent beating in my place and can now protect me from him. All things considered, I spent years of my life actually believing this good news was pretty good.<\/p>\n Yet, too many years of trying to live within that narrative brought me to a season where I thought my faith had completely collapsed. I *just* couldn\u2019t do it anymore\u2013 I\u2019d rather believe in nothing than believe in an all-powerful being who\u2019d dangle me over a fiery pit. More than that, I could no longer pretend that any such being was actually \u201cloving\u201d at all.<\/p>\n I suppose the biggest irony of my spiritual journey as a Christian is this: I was taught that Jesus could save me from a violent, angry God\u2013 and in the end, he actually did.<\/p>\n You see, when my faith collapsed I decided to start over and rebuild a Christian faith that was centered upon Jesus.<\/p>\n And when I did?<\/p>\n Well, I came to realize that the only way to describe what God is like is to describe what Jesus is like. Jesus claimed that he and the Father were one, and that when we see what Jesus is like, we\u2019ll see what God is actually like. Even when the Gospel of John begins to introduces us to Jesus, it first reminds us that no one had actually seen God before that moment.<\/p>\n The only way to see what God is like, is to look at what Jesus is like.<\/p>\n It is God who\u00a0trades up the opportunity to spend his time with the religiously pure, opting instead to recline at the table with messy people like me.<\/p>\n It is God who storms the halls of exclusive religion, who is busy disrupting the peace of those comfortably inside, and who clears a space for the outsiders.<\/p>\n It is God who stands with the condemned,\u00a0boldly telling the crowd to put their stones down.<\/p>\n It is God who turns to them\u2013 turns to us\u2013 and says, \u201cNeither do I condemn you.\u201d<\/p>\n It is God who came and who so desperately wanted us to finally see what he is truly like, that he\u00a0allowed himself to be raised high in the air on a hill outside Jerusalem for all to see.<\/p>\n It is God who refuses to be slandered by humanity in our descriptions of him, as if he\u2019s some Stephen King character we\u2019re supposed to fear.<\/p>\n It is God who exposed the vicious lie that we should fear him in the most dramatic\u00a0plot-twist of all time\u2013 because it was God who\u00a0refused to retaliate when\u00a0we\u00a0mocked him, spat upon him, pierced his body, and left him to die.<\/p>\n One must not miss the\u00a0irony of the climactic moment when God\u2019s true character was revealed to humanity:\u00a0instead of inflicting upon us torture and torment,\u00a0he let\u00a0us<\/em><\/span> do it to\u00a0him<\/span>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Even in that moment when his blood dripped and his body writhed in agony\u2013 a moment that would provoke rage and anger and hate in anyone\u2013 he looked upon the faces of those who did it, and forgave them.<\/p>\n Because of this, I stand in awe of God but I\u00a0no longer stand fearful of him. I have chosen to believe Jesus when he whispers to his disciples and says, \u201cWhen you see what I am like, that is the moment when you\u2019ll finally see what God is like.\u201d<\/p>\n No, God isn\u2019t like some Stephen King character we\u2019re supposed to fear\u2013 he\u2019s gone to great lengths to show us that.<\/p>\n Today, my eyes are finally opened\u2013\u00a0it\u2019s as if for the first time I see what God is like, because I finally see what Jesus is like.<\/p>\n And seeing what God is really like has led me to\u00a0have something\u00a0I\u2019ve never experienced before:<\/p>\n A vibrant faith that is\u00a0finally\u00a0Unafraid<\/em>.<\/p>\n Be sure to check out his new blog, right here<\/a>, and follow on Facebook<\/a>:<\/p>\n
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Dr. Benjamin L. Corey<\/a> is a public theologian and cultural anthropologist who is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with graduate degrees in the fields of Theology and International Culture, and holds a doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.\u00a0He is also the author of the new book, Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, which is available wherever good books\u00a0are sold. www.Unafraid-book.com.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n