Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1189422
25 Christmas is encapsulated by a buzz of excitement, gratitude, generosity, and perhaps ultimately, by the experience of joy. It is a seasonal liturgy that invites us to pause and remember there is a reason for great joy because a Savior has been born. However, for many, Christmas does not always generate joy, largely due to untimely hardships, suffer- ing, or loss. How does one find joy when it seems so elusive? Some circumstances are so painful that joy may exist only as a future reality we await. At other times, it seems we contribute to our own loss of joy by giving in to the anxieties and fears that surround us. The biblical theme of the fear of the Lord does not find its way into many Christmas carols, nor does it get printed on wrapping papers; however, it may be one of the most appropriate and needed Christmas lessons. In the Old Testament the phrase carries with it much more than visceral fright; there is a deeper idiomatic sense of action, obedience, and worship. God does not desire that His people live in visceral fear of Him, which is why the angel in Luke instructs the shepherds to "fear not." However, God also knows that if His people do not fear, worship, and obey Him they will fear, worship, and obey something or someone else. Thus, it is the fear of the Lord that emboldens us to fear no evil and allows us to know His great love. The fear of the Lord is a believer's fundamental movement of worship, and by it we declare that nothing else compares to Him. The fear of the Lord is the guaranteed security of God's love because it postures humans rightly before the nature of reality. However limited the distinction, it may be helpful to think of the fear of the Lord as the appropriate response to God's nature, upon which His love for humanity as the revelation of His character can securely rest. Thus, the angel's proclamation to the shepherds reveals God as sovereign Lord and His unending pursuit of humanity. May we experience the joy and presence of God as we learn to suspend our lives between these two great truths—the fear of the Lord and His great love. David Swenson Current student, mAster of Arts (theology) FeAr the lord "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him." – Psalm 103:11 December 20