Fear or respect?

I have been studying the book “The Purpose Driven Life”, and the chapter that I am currently reading is about being a friend with God. The book suggests that the contextual meaning of the Bible in its reference to our being friends to God is as being similat to if we were close friends and perhaps in the inner circle of a King. Many people throughout the Bible genuinely feared God and in fact the Bible states that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. My question is how can we be good friends with someone we fear?

Personally I like what the book has to say in this regard. It is more about respect than fear. As with the illustration about being in the inner circle of the King. Although it is vividly clear that a King is all-powerful and we are not equals, even a King has close friends in His inner circle. We can be faithful and loyal friends with a King.
Similarly a Father can be friends and perhaps even be the Best Man at his son’s wedding, yet he is still the father and deserving of loving respect.

God knows our weaknesses just as He knew David, Abraham, and David’s weaknesses, yet He remained a loving Father and forgiving friend to them even when He was forced to exact punishment when they disobeyed Him. I believe God yearns for a very close relationship with us. Although we are not given a great amount of information about Adam and Eve’s relationship with God prior to the fall and even after, a careful study of Genesis indicates that it was a close personal relationship with daily ineraction between them was both enjoyable to our Creator and to Adam and Eve. I envison heaven to be a resumption of that relationship only this time it will be eternally free from temptation and sin.

We can definiletly be friends with God; in fact Jesus laid down His life for us, His friends; now it is up to us to follow His commands. We can know also that He will provide all the help that we ASK FOR in order to accomplish it…

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than
this, than to lay down one’s life for
his friends.
You are my friends if you do
whatever I command you…
These things I command you,
that you love one another.



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