【双语灵修】敬畏耶和华FEAR THE LORD

「耶和华 … 向你所要的是甚么呢？只要你敬畏耶和华你的神，遵行他的道，爱他，尽心尽性侍奉他。」-申 10:12

我小时很惧怕神，因为我不明白「敬畏耶和华」是甚么意思。

我对神的爱是不应该令我害怕的，因为神在我们里面，使爱完全驱走了惧怕（约翰一书 4:18）。

基于神是一位神圣、威严、圣洁和完美的神，认识祂在每一方面和一切所作的都是完全和公义的，所以圣经中「敬畏」一词主要是用来表达我们应该敬仰和尊崇祂。敬畏耶和华表示我们意识到，在生命中神与我们同在，这影响我们生活的每一方面，以及我们与祂的交通，我们的行为和我们与祂的关系。因为我们敬畏主，我们倾向不做某些事情，而不是因为我们害怕神会有甚么反应，乃是因为我们敬爱、景仰和尊崇祂，「敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端，认识至圣者便是聪明」（箴言 9:10）。

我们明白神是无限的，我们却是有限的。神是创造主，我们乃是祂的创造的一部份。主为大，最有能力，祂的智慧无法测度（诗篇 147:5）。祂的意念和道路都高过我们的（以赛亚书 55:8-9）。神以恩慈和怜悯待我们，祂是配得一切的敬仰和尊崇的。

祷告

全能的神，我全心全意敬仰和尊崇祢，从今时直到永远。奉耶稣祈求，阿们。

「以色列啊，现在耶和华你神向你所要的是什么呢？只要你敬畏耶和华你的神，遵行他的道，爱他，尽心、尽性侍奉他。

FEAR THE LORD

What does the Lord . . . ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve [him] . . . with all your heart and . . . soul . . . ?   —Deuteronomy 10:12

As a child, I was afraid of God because I did not understand what it means to “fear the Lord.”

My love for God wasn’t supposed to scare me because God perfects love in us to drive out fear (1 John 4:18).

The word fearis used in the Bible mainly to convey that we should revere and honor God because of who he is—his holiness, majesty, purity, and perfection—recognizing that God is good and righteous in all his ways and in all that he does. The fear of the Lord expresses our awareness of God’s presence in our life. It affects every area of our life, our communion with him, our behavior, and our relationships. There are things we are less likely to do because we fear the Lord, not because we are afraid of what God might do, but because we love, respect, and honor him. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

We understand that God is infinite and we are finite. God is the Creator, and we are part of his creation. God is great and mighty in power, and his understanding is unlimited (Psalm 147:5). His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). God is gracious and merciful to us, and he is worthy of all respect and honor.

Almighty God, I revere and honor you with all my heart and all my soul, now and always. In Jesus, Amen.