Garry spoke tonight on the subject of reverence. On 17 June 2018, tourists in the Kruger National Park in South Africa almost lost their lives when one of them wound down the window of the Jeep they were travelling in in order to stroke a lion who had come to lie in the shade of the vehicle. The lion was roused by this and its fearsome roar terrified the tourist who managed to escape unharmed. The lion may have looked cute and cuddly, but wasn’t. The tourist needed to show due respect for the wild animal… and we need to show due respect for God.
In 1 Pet 3:15 we are urged to ‘revere’ or ‘set apart’ Christ as Lord. That word implies a caution, even a fear or dread. We need to understand that we are dealing with the King of Kings and worship God with reverence and awe. (Heb 12:28) Godly fear is not about a crippling terror, but about a healthy respect, based on a knowledge of who God is. Jacob experienced this when he realised he had encountered God in a dream (Gen 28:16-17). A right fear of God protects us and helps us.
Reverence is not about ‘sounding’ the part or ‘looking’ the part. Jesus told us that prayer is not about using special words or voices or repetition (Matt 6:5-9); it is about talking to God as our heavenly Father. It is not about being sombre or wearing dark clothes. David was reprimanded by Michal for wearing a linen ephod and dancing extravagantly before the Lord on the ark’s return to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:12-16, 20-22); she thought his behaviour was vulgar and demeaning. He, however, knew he had worshipped God from the heart, even if it looked undiginified to others. When we start worrying more about what other people think than about what God thinks, we are in trouble, for God does not look at the outward appearance, but looks at the heart. Reverence can never just be about the externals.
Reverence is understanding that God is not tame. We cannot control Him; He does whatever pleases Him. Reverence means not treating Him as ordinary (which David had previously done when bringing the ark back to Jerusalem, resulting in Uzzah’s death because he touched the ark of the covenant, treating it as an ordinary wooden box instead of as the symbol of God’s holy presence. 2 Sam 6:1-9) Paul reminds us in 1 Cor 11:27-32 that we need to approach God in the right way, treating Communion seriously and reverently. Ultimately, we need to do things God’s way.
Reverence is wanting to be like God (2 Cor 7:1), perfecting holiness because God is holy. Our hero is Christ and therefore we want to be like Him. We value who Christ is and He grows the fruit of the Spirit in our lives so that we become more like Him.
Reverence, ultimately, is closely linked to obedience. We show reverence by doing what Christ tells us to. That is easy if what God tells us to do is what we want to do, but much harder when He says no to the things we long for or asks us to do things we’d rather not. We have to pray as Jesus did: ‘not my will, but Yours be done.’ Nonetheless, a healthy fear, arising from a melted heart rather than a terrified one, is what we need to approach God with due respect and reverence.