But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
Luke 12:5 (NIV)
Fear. God. This is not a topic that we are so keen on these days. It is one of those concepts that is often misunderstood. Having recently written a paper on Luke 12, I ran into this verse that is always a little startling to me: “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
What’s more, from this rather disturbing statement, Jesus went on to tell a crowd of thousands of people about the five sparrows sold for two pennies and that “not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (6-7 NIV)
So, what is the point here? Why the dramatic statement and then move right into the five little sparrows?!?!
It is often shared that the Bible does not really mean fear when the word is used. Like many things, that is true but also not true. Consider this . . .
We love to camp and when the temperature is right (I hate to be cold), I love a good wood fire. However, there are things that I know about fire that cause me to respect it and sometimes when I see what fire can do, I am in awe (e.g., blown glass!).
When I am camping in Western Washington in the Spring and Fall, I have a raging fire and my poker stick that I like to watch glow in the darkness, respecting that I need to follow certain guidelines, but not experiencing fear. When we camp in Eastern Washington in the summertime, wood fires are usually not allowed because one stray spark left unattended can lead to destruction.
If I do not follow the guidelines and choose to have a fire in Eastern Washington and the straw-like grass catches on fire and is rapidly advancing toward my motor home and the campsites of others and innocent children, then I am going to be afraid, in the full sense of the word. I am crazy-scared and there are going to be consequences for my actions!
The same scenario is true of God. Whether we as “post-modern” Americans like it or not, this is God’s world. He created it and the scenarios for living in it. If we play with fire and are not following the guidelines He has established, we will be faced with fearful consequences, as our response to His path determines our eternity.
BUT, if we choose to honor and respect Him, following the “guidelines” that He has established – engaging in relationship with Him – then we will know the amazing love of the One who created everything and yet is mindful of the five tiny little sparrows, the cheapest, most common of birds.
Is the point of Luke 12:7 the fact that He knows the number of hairs on our head? No, it is “in the fact that God cares enough about His people to know the minutest detail about them. He knows things they do not know about themselves.” << and He loves us anyway!
(Morris, Leon. Luke: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 3. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988.)
Denise Travanti 