 | The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26. |
Religion
2009-02-01 14:22:00
Love God or fear Him?
Question: Which is more important: to love God or to fear Him? I don’t see how it is possible to do both at the same time and to the same extent.
Answer: Jesus states it clearly: “The greatest commandment is
that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” But, you may say, the Bible also talks about “fearing” God. The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “Fear God, and keep his commandments. That is the whole duty of everyone.” Throughout the Bible, when people encounter God, they find themselves afraid, and an angel often says, “Do not be afraid.” So what does “fear” mean in the Bible? Generally, it means one of two things. The word used can connote “awe”. We are to recognize that God is God; he is the Creator, the holy one, and we are the creatures, the sinful ones. The word can also connote “respect.” We recognize what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
The analogy is limited, but it is something like a child’s relationship with his/her parent. He/she loves his/ her parent, of course. But he/she also must recognize the different roles of parent and child, and the authority that a parent has. This is not “fear” in the sense that we are to be afraid of either God or our parents; rather, it is to recognize the difference between the two.
So, is it more important to love God or to fear him? I would assert that love of God includes “fear” in the sense that we know we are not equal to him. Love of God does not include “fear” in that we should be frightened into belief or action.
