Most people think God wants us to fear Him because we were brought up with the King James Version and our Christianity flowed from its translations. But in actual fact, closer study of the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramiac texts reveal that God does not want us to be afraid of Him. He wants us to reverence Him.
In fact we know from 1 John 4:8 that “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” and 1 John 4:18 makes us understand that “perfect love casts out fear”.
So, how can God who is love wants us to be afraid of Him? Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. Reverence is defined as a deep respect for someone or something.
Between these two, which emotion do you think God wants us to have concerning Him?
Reno Omokri is the pastor of the Mind of Christ Christian Center and author of Shunpiking No Shortcuts To God. He can be reached on Twitter @renoomokri.
