Reverent fear

Again, Peter with the terse, meaning-packed sentence. "Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17)

This sentence has a what (the second part) and a why (the first part).

The what: I am to live here on earth as a stranger, in reverent fear. A stranger, because I don't belong. This isn't my culture, and if I go native then I break faith with my Father and Lord. That part we hear a lot about, and I get it, although I don't always live it very well.

But reverent fear? Do we still revere God the way Peter means? His name, as represented by the ubiquitous text-speak acronym OMG, is a part of popular culture in a way that's anything but reverent. It's easy to become casual about God; too often even those who believe in Him look at Him like a spiritual Gentle Ben, and great big pet grizzly bear who is powerful and dangerous, yes, but not to us. He's our friend; He helps us and does what we want.

And fear? I can't say I fear God. I know, we've decided that Biblically the word fear doesn't mean be afraid, it's just an old-fashioned word meaning to reverence and obey. I disagree; I think the word fear is meant to convey a certain amount of fear. It's meant to recognize the mortal danger we're in when we trifle with God.

It's easy to focus on God's grace and love, easy to look past the fact that He ordered entire towns slaughtered and personally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It's easy to forget how passionately He hates our sin, and how willing he is to bring us suffering if that's the best thing for us.

So, Peter says, live here as strangers, in reverent fear. Why? Because we have a Father who judges our work impartially. He loves us, yes, but He doesn't play favorites. Or maybe, more accurately, He does but we're all His favorites.

In front of an impartial Judge, we will get exactly what we deserve. Outside of Jesus, that's death. That realization puts the fear back in reverent fear.