“Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11)

“Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11)

Although fear and joy might seem like polar opposites, both are necessary when practicing the Christian faith. Obviously, joy is essential because religion inspires it. No one can know God, revel in His unbounding love, and accept His ultimate sacrifice to free us from sin (and death) and be sad. Yet, we must temper this joy with the fear of God. 

However, this “fear of God” should not be confused with the type of fear we have of monsters, horror shows, or scary movies. Rather, it means to be in “awe” of God: to respect Him as the Supreme One, our Creator, our Lord and Master and King. It means that we know our place, submit to His will, obey His rules, and serve Him faithfully.  

Fr. John