How do you see God?

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

How do you see God? That was the question poised in our Sunday School class. The teacher asked us to think and ponder about it and bring back an answer the following week. This week as the class met we review what everyone wrote.

My answer included the following:

I believe God is longsuffering – more patience than we will ever know. When you think of all the things that have happened throughout the years, disobedience, rebellion, blatant sin against God, and God has not destroyed us. He has held back His punishment and judgment of the world to be demonstrated at some time in the future. Think of all the horrible things that happened to the Jews, God allowed it. He could have eliminated them from the world, but in His longsuffering He has preserved the nation and will show them His mercy at the end of the tribulation period. He has been longsuffering with me and all my shortcomings.

God is just. All that God does is just and right.

Faithful is another word used to describe how I see God. He is always there. He is with me in the good times and the bad.

He is also consistent, the same yesterday, today and forever. God does not change according to the times. I don’t believe God is politically correct, what God says is what He means.

One by one people gave their impression of God. The answers were as varied as the people. Then, one woman said, “Fear, I fear God.”

Fear God. I didn't thought of that answer. As I was thinking about it I realized most of us don’t fear God. We go about our daily lives, doing the things we want to do, usually thinking about God as an afterthought. We think about God when things go wrong in our life, but if everything is good we just go on our merry way. We do not fear God even when we are doing things against His Word. What is the fear of God?

In the Hebrew it was translated to fearing; morally reverent: - afraid, fear (ful).

In the Greek it is translated to frighten, that is (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy to be in awe of, that is, revere:-be (+sore) afraid, fear (Exceedingly), reverence

I also looked up reverence in the Webster Dictionary. Here are the meanings:

1 : honor or respect felt or shown: deference; especially : profound adoring awed respect

2 : a gesture of respect (as a bow)

3 : the state of being revered

4 : one held in reverence —used as a title for a clergyman
synonyms see honor

The synonym for reverence is honor. Do we honor God with our lives? Do we see God as someone we fear and honor? Are we living holy separated lives before the Lord? Can people look at our life and the life of our unsaved neighbor and tell which one claims Christ as their Savior?

The phrase “fear God” is mentioned ten times in the Bible, six times in the Old Testament and four in the New Testament. God wants us to fear Him, not in the sense of constantly being afraid of Him, but in the sense of awe for Who He is and what He has done for us. We need to reverence Him with our whole being. Do we fear God? Do we act like we fear God or do we act like we are fearless before God?

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. Psalm 66:16

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. II Corinthians 7:1

Have a blessed day,
Donna