Never Alone - Part 2

Again, I read another passage from Tim Green's Never Alone, the modern adaptation of Brother Lawrence's classic. Today, I read conversation three: "A Faithful Awe, A Real Trust."

He sums up the Christian life in a powerful sentence: Brother Lawrence "told me that the heartbeat of his walk with God was the incredible awe and respect that he had for his Heavenly Father."

Wow! That is high impact. Our walk with God should contain awe and respect. Notice it doesn't say "fear." Awe is not fear. Respect is not fear. Fear is the opposite of either them. When we are held in fear, contempt often arises. Think of the notorious dictators of history. People feared Hitler and Stalin, but they did not respect them. They had nothing but contempt. Sure, they went along with the program, but out of fear of punishment rather than respect or awe.

I don't want my Christian walk to be marked with fear of God. I don't want to be scared of him as one fears a ruthless judge or dictator. I want to walk with awe and respect for God.

When we have respect and awe, we can fully trust God to take care of us. I don't think that fear leads to trust. If anything, fear leads to mistrust. When I am terrified of someone, I certainly don't trust them. If we have a healthy awe and respect for God, we can fully trust him. Brother Lawrence said, "There is absolutely no way God would ever trick us." Again, that is trust grounded in awe and respect. I want a level of trust that is so deep that I will not doubt that God has my best interest in mind.