According to Kierkegaard, anxiety is the dizziness of freedom. I completely understand where he is coming from. The angst experienced when we realize our choices and the implications of choosing incorrectly is enormous. Anxiety-inspiring indeed. Kierkegaard says that this anxiety can cause sin. It definitely can, as it may render people useless in delivering the Gospel, but it can also prevent sin when it is placed correctly. The fear of God is a potent attribute. It wards people from the fires of Hell, allowing people to see the power of God and His judgement.
This is something I think we've lost; harken back to our discussions of Edwards in "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God." The Church, I believe, has trouble fearing God. It's now so much about grace covering everything. Indeed, it does! A life with God after death is nothing to discredit, of course. Grace covers every sin, but have we forgotten why? The sin was not merely shrugged off by God. He didn't simply accept us in our sinful state and say, "It's really no big deal, man. Come on back inside and I'll let it go." No, no, no! He paid for it. He grasped Christ in His hands, a burning, raging fury in His heart, and crushed every last bit of life out of Him. He ground Himself to a paste, then vomited a viscid, sticky, scorching liquid in the form of wrath all over that blackened, tainted paste. He took that for us. Where is our fear of that wrath in this life? A holy fear of a holy God who despises our rebellion (not failure, or mess-ups...rebellion), where is it?
This is the Word from the mouth of God:
Proverbs 1:7
Proverbs 9:10
Deuteronomy 10:12
Luke 12:5
Ad augusta per angusta,
Will Drake
Commented on Jamie Kilpatrick's "Thoughts"
ReplyDeleteThis was wonderful. What more to say? How can we take back our brothers and sisters who have been desynthesized from holy fear because of their own itchy ears and the itchy ears of our ancestors? Here is something I thought of today that very much so applies to us as Honors students and those who search for the Truth: Where is the balance between being open minded in our search for Truth and succumbing to the entrapments of our OWN itchy ears? May God have mercy... and justice. Let us not forget the things like Will mentioned, because doing so makes a false understanding of the nature of who he is and what he did.
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