10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Fearing God is something that isn't taught or discussed that often in churches or even in Young Life. I guess it can be hard to talk about, and maybe makes God seem less "appealing" sometimes. However if you read the bible there are countless stories of people, families, and nations fearing God for good reason. This introduction of Cornelius is one of them.
Having a fear of God is something that just kind of makes sense when you think about the characteristics of God. We believe in a powerful God who created the universe, the moon the stars and the Earth. We believe in a God who can move great mountains with ease, can split vast oceans into two and can create powerful nations from nothing. We believe in a God who created all life, but more importantly created the intricate human in His own image. If we believe in all these things, we need to believe in the kind of opposite as well. We need to believe God can destroy great nations as easily as he raises them, that He can take the stars away as easily as He created them. And most importantly that He can take the same life that He created in His own image, away. In the same respect that we awe at God's power, we need to fear it as well.
But fearing God doesn't just give Him the proper respect, but puts everything else He does into even more perspective. What does it show for the God of the universe with all the power He holds, when He decided to dwell among us mere humans in the form of Jesus? When He lived life among us, ate with us, traveled with us and wept with us? When He wrongfully died a gruesome death so that we could be in a relationship with Him? I don't know about yall, but when I think about just how great and scary God is, it makes it even crazier to think about all He's done for me. And just how unworthy we are to be recipients of love and grace from such a powerful God.
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