'The Threshold of Faith'
We read in Luke 1:26-38, how the angel Gabriel came to Mary with the announcement that she will give birth to the Messiah, who she will name Jesus which means ‘God Saves’. Like many in the scriptures who see an angel, she was struck with awe and fear. We tend to brush over this critical point. Throughout the Old Testament, we hear the refrain that ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ It is also the beginning of holiness. Fearing the Lord is fundamentally saying, ‘You are God, and I am not.’ It is the recognition that our creator has the right to direct our lives, demand obedience, and judge our actions and words. The fear of the Lord is the threshold of faith.
Adam and Eve failed the test. They succumbed to the insipid temptation that God has withheld His goodness from them, that it is to their benefit to disobey, and that there won’t be any negative consequences. We also hear tempting words and think to ourselves, “God’s direction keeps me from experiencing all I want. I don’t want to miss out on what others are doing and talking about. After all, they are happy about those choices and excited about how they can take control of their own lives.” Sometimes the negative effects happen immediately. Sometimes they don’t catch up with you for a long time. When we lose the fear of the Lord, we begin to go off the path to our own peril. The fear of the Lord is the threshold to the blessings of obedience.
Mary responded to the messenger of God with an appropriate fear of the Lord. That put her in line with Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. None of them were perfect by any stretch of the imagination. However, the fear of the Lord was their fundamental disposition when their sin was brought before them. And it was precisely because they had the fear of the Lord that they were able to be used in powerful and profound ways.
I encourage you to take some time to reflect on who God is as your creator, Lord, and judge. The more you take in exactly who God is, the more you will develop that faithful fear of the Lord. Once you are fully and fearfully surrendered to Him, He will use you in amazing ways just like He did with Mary. The fear of the Lord is the threshold to God’s powerful work in your life.
Merry Christmas,
Jonathan