Biblically, we are called to fear the Lord, in terms of our respect and just general awe of His awesome power. We are told that that particular brand of fear yields good benefits for the believer.
Proverbs 1:7:
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."
But there is a kind of fear that we are warned against, and that is the outworking of fruitless worry. That kind of fear yields nothing but trouble for the one in bondage to it. I heard a humorous paraphrase (I am very fond of sarcasm, for those of you who have never met me lol) of the following passage, that I fully intend to have framed and displayed in my dorm at college this coming Fall. It read, "Why pray when you could worry?"
Philippians 4:6
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
What I have noticed over the recent past, and especially in the aftermath of my brush with the occult last year in particular, is that by God's grace I no longer fear death as I once did. Rather, I have felt calm or even happy in response to threatening situations. What surprises me is how we as humans do not generally fear the afterlife itself, but rather fear our departure from this life. Have you ever noticed this phenomenon?
I truly have met some who fear the endlessness of eternity, some for fear of the "unknown" from the vantage point of lives lived without Christ, and others the sheer scope of such a vast amount of literally incomprehensible time, but if we really step back and examine our fear of death, I think we will notice that nine times out of ten we fear leaving the shallow and temporary existences we have on this planet more than we fear what comes after our departure. I have even met those who claimed to have never really given eternity a second thought. They just assumed that this life was all there was, and that death would unite them with an endless emptiness.
We can even find ourselves, if you are anything like me, fearing some temporary effect or ailment that we might suffer here on this planet more than the status of our timeless existence after death. To name a few examples, have you ever felt a fear of suddenly loosing your sight, or a hand, or your ability to hear, perhaps the loss of wealth, or some other such meager part of your earthly existence, while we continue to sin without much thought at all as to the implications that those acts hold in terms of our eternal lives (NOTE: I am not preaching works-based salvation here, but we are told to store treasures for ourselves up in heaven).
Matthew 6:19-20
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
Perhaps this lack of fear over eternity for the believer is due to the assurance that we as the elect chosen of God have in our ultimate destination. But perhaps the over confident side of that promise can be as much of a stumbling block at times, as in can be a comfort. Perhaps it can lead to undue pride and self-righteousness, and cause us to take for granted just how much of a gift it truly is, and our God given responsibility to walk uprightly by following His commandments, and not simply looking at it as "God has already chosen me, therefore I can sin all I want since He doesn't ever change His mind". We are still called to strive to be sinless by God's grace, and speaking from experience that is a concept that can easily be lost under the constant crushing burden of sinful lives lived daily. But still that is and must always be the goal.
1 John 2:1
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."
We are called as believers, to have confidence in our callings. I'm not saying that we shouldn't...rather, I'm saying that we must guard against undue pride or bad attitudes that may stem from the confidence that we should feel. Notice the word "hope" in this passage from Peter. The implication is that we truly do have something to be "hopeful" about...and that is eternal life in heaven by God's sovereign grace.
1 Peter 3:15
"--but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"
Oh that we may be thankful every single day that that is truly the case, and that we are not left to the damnation that is our reward both here in this life, and in the one to come! Praise be to God that we may live our lives free from the fear of our own rightful reward were it not for the intervening power of Jesus Christ! Soli deo gloria.
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