FEAR AND OBEY GOD

 

FEAR AND OBEY GOD

Eccl. 12:13,14 Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. NLT

Solomon had looked at life. He observed how futile life really is. He sought meaning and purpose for our existence through our life experiences and came up empty-handed. When he was all done looking, he came to the conclusion that in order for life to have any meaning at all, it must be rooted in our relationship with God.

Solomon is widely known for his wisdom. In his day, people from all over the world came to listen to him. He recorded his thoughts and God preserved them for all the generations to follow. We continue to benefit from his wisdom as we strive to live the life of faith. He was very observant about life and faith. So, when he narrows down all that he understood about life into a couple of sentences, it is wise for us to take note.

Solomon declares that the most important thing we can do in life is to fear God and obey His commands. Fear involves respect. We must respect God in His holiness. We must always be mindful of the character and nature of God. Our awareness of God compels us to obey Him. We obey Him because we know the character of God and realize that whatever God tells us to do it is because He loves us and desires to make us holy. He declares that without holiness no one will see Him, let alone be with Him. Wisdom would teach us that we must have proper respect for God in His holiness.

The Lord does not want us to face Him without being holy in character. He knows that on Judgment Day everything in our hearts will be exposed for Him to see, and if we are not holy, we must spend eternity in hell. He will see every secret thing. He will see all the goodness of our hearts and all the evil. He will know not only what is there, but why it is there. He will know our motives and whether or not we strive to live in Christ or not. He will know if we live for Christ out of duty or love. Nothing will be hidden from Him.

There is nothing more important in life than this: to fear God and obey Him.