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Love, Faithfulness, and

             Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided. (Proverbs 16:6)

The best example of the first half of this verse is, of course, the love and faithfulness of God that led to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it is because of our love for others and our faithfulness to them and/or to what is right that we seek reconciliation and make restitution for wrongs done to us and forgive those who have wronged to us and seek reconciliation with them. We can atone for our sins against others and we can forgive sins committed against us.

The second half of the verse is something I've discussed before. It's not about a phobia. It’s about healthy fear. I used to be phobic of spiders. Now, I have what I would describe as a healthy fear. I’m not likely to try to agitate a spider or even to handle it. But I’m also not likely to leave a building because I came across a spider in it (which I have done!) I’m not phobic of dogs, but I certainly wouldn’t dismiss the threat of one growling at me. In the same way, this verse isn’t talking about being reduced to quivering jelly whenever the Lord is mentioned. It’s about having enough sense to know that doing certain things is likely to provoke God. Here’s another thought: if you love someone, don’t you try to avoid harming or hurting them? Don’t you try to do things that benefit them? You might not say that you’re exactly afraid of them, but there’s an almost instinctive sense of avoidance when it comes even to disappointing or displeasing them. I don't think most of us would want to be in a relationship in which the other person had no fear or concern about our well-being.

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