January 9, 200 - Sirach 2:15-18

Today's passage comes from the book of Sirach, which is an Apocryphal book found in the Old Testament in Catholic Bibles. It reads as follows:

"Those who fear the Lord do not
disobey His words,
and those who love Him keep His ways.
Those who fear the Lord seek to
please Him,
and those who love Him are filled with His law.
Those who fear the Lord prepare
their hearts
and hmble themselves before Him.
Let us fall into the hands of the Lord,
but not into the hands of mortals,
for equal to His majesty is His mercy,
and equal to His name are His works."

This makes me ask the question - Do I fear God? In the sense that I think of fear, the answer is no. Respect, worship, awe, love...yes. So, what is the Bible saying here? Does it say that we are to fear our protector? Are we to be afraid of the very One who saves us? So, I'm thinking that the word "fear" doesn't mean fear in the sense that we think of as fear. But, I can see that standing (or perhaps attempting to stand) in the presence of the Almighty would be more than most of us could take. I think of God as my friend, my Father, my comforter, my strength and my shield. Yet, I am also aware that He is so much more than that. He literally holds my life in His hands, and should He forget about me for single instant, I would cease to exist.

Though Paramhansa Yogananda was not a Christian, still he echoed a prayer for all of us when he said, "Oh Great Spirit, forget me not, even when I forget you."

May it be so.