There's plenty of things dt befuddle me when it comes to religion, none more confusing than the oxymoronic question posed above...

Pray tell how is it possible dt someone can love AND fear something/someone. The whole concept seems silly to me. If i love someone, then i do not fear them and vice versa.
P. S: I truly want to understand so kindly jump in if u have an answer

franugo:
There's plenty of things dt befuddle me when it comes to religion, none more confusing than the oxymoronic question posed above...

Pray tell how is it possible dt someone can love AND fear something/someone. The whole concept seems silly to me. If i love someone, then i do not fear them and vice versa.
P. S: I truly want to understand so kindly jump in if u have an answer

If you have ever been in any close human relationship, you would easily understand how you fear those you love the most.

e.g. Imagine the love a baby has for his mother.. So much love that the same is riddled with fear every time he imagines that mother's touch is no longer present with him.

I'm Maximus one of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, i promise to be brief and reason with you using the scriptures, so can i also contribute to the thread?

franugo:
There's plenty of things dt befuddle me when it comes to religion, none more confusing than the oxymoronic question posed above...

Pray tell how is it possible dt someone can love AND fear something/someone. The whole concept seems silly to me. If i love someone, then i do not fear them and vice versa.
P. S: I truly want to understand so kindly jump in if u have an answer

[quote author=MaxInDHouse post=98234130]I'm Maximus one of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, i promise to be brief and reason with you using the scriptures, so can i also contribute to the thread?


[/quote

Of course

Kobojunkie:
If you have ever been in any close human relationship, you would easily understand how you fear those you love the most.

e.g. Imagine the love a baby has for his mother.. So much love that the same is riddled with fear every time he imagines that mother's touch is no longer present with him.

Nah, the two aren't similar. That baby's example is a fear of losing said loved one not a fear of the loved one

Fear is in the sense of respect not dread, like you fear your parents even though you love them.

God bless.

franugo:

Nah, the two aren't similar. That baby's example is a fear of losing said loved one not a fear of the loved one

The can't loves the mother but also harbours fears of the same mother abandoning him at the same time... He may not have well-formed reasons in his mind for such fears, nevertheless that fear is real to the infant and it is connected in some way or form with the mother figure.
So love and fear, together, aren't as oxymoronic as you initially assumed. We, as mere humans experience these seemingly contradictory feelings in our relationships with one another. The more we grow on our relationships, the more we realize that there ate not as opposed to each other as we initially assumed.

Relationships of the heart tend to have a complex nature to them. I too used to have a love-hate relationship myself with food. I loved food but hated the impact it sometimes had on my health, both mental and physical mind you.

Anyways, having an understanding of what relationships truly can be like and accepting even their complex nature is key to understanding how one can indeed both love and fear God at the same time.

Kobojunkie:
The can't loves the mother but also harbours fears of the same mother abandoning him at the same time... He may not have well-formed reasons in his mind for such fears, nevertheless that fear is real to the infant and it is connected in some way or form with the mother figure.
So love and fear, together, aren't as oxymoronic as you initially assumed. We, as mere humans experience these seemingly contradictory feelings in our relationships with one another. The more we grow on our relationships, the more we realize that there ate not as opposed to each other as we initially assumed.

Relationships of the heart tend to have a complex nature to them. I too used to have a love-hate relationship myself with food. I loved food but hated the impact it sometimes had on my health, both mental and physical mind you.

Anyways, having an understanding of what relationships truly can be like and accepting even their complex nature is key to understanding how one can indeed both love and fear God at the same time.

It is that understanding dt I am trying to achieve bro. Thanks for trying tho

franugo:


It is that understanding dt I am trying to achieve bro. Thanks for trying tho

Instead of trying to understand the relationship between God and men, first shoot for a deeper understanding of the relationships that surround you there in your world.

Open your mind and let your heart feel it's way around what exists it in the spaces you occupy.

@franugo

LOVING and FEARING the same person can be possible, it largely depends on the character of the person in question. I don't know you but think of all those who are close to you, have you ever thought of someone to whom you're so dear that he/she FEARS to lose the cordial relationship he/she have with you?

Well loving and fearing God is just like that. Of course what God's servants fear is loosing the friendship we have developed with our heavenly father, though this will certainly sound somehow to an atheist who feel he needs to see someone before he could either feel love or fear the person based on the experience he had with the person so far.

For instance everyone of us LOVE cool oxygen we enjoy it at all times and at the same time we all FEAR to loose oxygen because it's the number one thing that's sustaining our life. Psalms 36:9
Well only those with deep thinking can say this, as for a novice he will continue to wonder "what can ordinary air do to me?" surely a asthmatic patient will never say that!

After a thorough meditation on what God has been doing through his creations and how loving he is we have developed LOVE for him in our hearts, so most of us FEAR to loose the cordial relationship we had with him! Isaiah 1:18; 48:17-18

franugo:
There's plenty of things dt befuddle me when it comes to religion, none more confusing than the oxymoronic question posed above...

Pray tell how is it possible dt someone can love AND fear something/someone. The whole concept seems silly to me. If i love someone, then i do not fear them and vice versa.
P. S: I truly want to understand so kindly jump in if u have an answer

The understanding is this, You Fear Him because You Know He is Fear-Full on One Hand however, because you know that His Fear is Only directed to those who are His Enemies, therefore you see only His Great Goodness.

Therefore, because you know that you would never allow yourself be His Enemy, you can therefore concentrate on loving Him for His Great Goodness while watching how He crushes All His Enemies.

franugo:
There's plenty of things dt befuddle me when it comes to religion, none more confusing than the oxymoronic question posed above...

Pray tell how is it possible dt someone can love AND fear something/someone. The whole concept seems silly to me. If i love someone, then i do not fear them and vice versa.
P. S: I truly want to understand so kindly jump in if u have an answer

The understanding is this, You Fear Him because You Know He is Fear-Full on One Hand however, because you know that His Fear is Only directed to those who are His Enemies, therefore you see only His Great Goodness.

Therefore, because you know that you would never allow yourself be His Enemy, you can therefore concentrate on loving Him for His Great Goodness while watching how He crushes All His Enemies and those who go against Him.

Dtruthspeaker:


The understanding is this, You Fear Him because You Know He is Fear-Full on One Hand however, because you know that His Fear is Only directed to those who are His Enemies, therefore you see only His Great Goodness.

Therefore, because you know that you would never allow yourself be His Enemy, you can therefore concentrate on loving Him for His Great Goodness while watching how He crushes All His Enemies and those who go against Him.

That isn't at all how fear for the lord is preached.

The answer is contained in isaish 45:7 .

" i form the light and creste darkness i make peace and creste calamity, i the lord, do ALL these things".

franugo:


That isn't at all how fear for the lord is preached.

That does not mean it is not True and besides, you were not asking for an explanation based on any particular light.

Dtruthspeaker:


That does not mean it is not True and besides, you were not asking for an explanation based on any particular light.

But I did sir. If you look at the question posed, you'll see dt I said "..love and fear at the same time", I didn't ask for the fear of losing the relationship with the lord, that is of course very understandable. I have visited several denominations, and the message is consistent across all...fear him, because if you do fear him, you'd not want to sin for fear of his vengeance/retribution.

Now I understand that fear of His anger so flee from sin ..to an extent but I still posit dt fear is NEVER a solid foundation for a healthy relationship, same reason why most kids love their mothers more cause they fear their fathers more. When I was younger, I had a healthy dose of fear of my dad cause he specialized in knocks to the head, infact I remember almost running away then cause of sth I said, can't remember what now....now tho, I can boldly say I love him cause I no longer fear him. I still maintain dt no serious love can be found in a fearful relationship

jesusjnr2020:
Fear is in the sense of respect not dread, like you fear your parents even though you love them.

God bless.

I understand your POV to an extent but I still maintain dt one cannot truly love if he/she is always afraid. For the level of relationship most people seek with God, fear should not be a deciding factor.

Kobojunkie:
Instead of trying to understand the relationship between God and men, first shoot for a deeper understanding of the relationships that surround you there in your world.

Open your mind and let your heart feel it's way around what exists it in the spaces you occupy.

I understand the kind of relationships I have right now. I have looked, observed, watched n studied human interactions. There are so many flimsy relationships dt exist in the world, where people smile in ur face n lie against you at your back,,,where they praise you in ur presence n denigrate you in ur absence. I try to limit the number of serious relationships I have cause humans are fickle and most cannot be trusted.

sonmvayina:
The answer is contained in isaish 45:7 .

" i form the light and creste darkness i make peace and creste calamity, i the lord, do ALL these things".

I fail to see the answer bro...kindly expatiate

Dtruthspeaker:


The understanding is this, You Fear Him because You Know He is Fear-Full on One Hand however, because you know that His Fear is Only directed to those who are His Enemies, therefore you see only His Great Goodness.

Therefore, because you know that you would never allow yourself be His Enemy, you can therefore concentrate on loving Him for His Great Goodness while watching how He crushes All His Enemies and those who go against Him.

I like ur explanation, it focuses less on fear and I think preachers should always focus less on it . There's a lot of fear mongering in churches, give or you will not receive, pray constantly or you will be crushed by the enemy, worship at my church or risk eternal damnation.... They irritate me slightly.

franugo:

I understand the kind of relationships I have right now. I have looked, observed, watched n studied human interactions. There are so many flimsy relationships dt exist in the world, where people smile in ur face n lie against you at your back,,,where they praise you in ur presence n denigrate you in ur absence. I try to limit the number of serious relationships I have cause humans are fickle and most cannot be trusted.

I sense what you have been doing instead is judging your relationships and their worth to you.

I would advice any sane person against investing even an ounce of trust in any human relationship since by default we are fallible beings hence untrustworthy by nature.
That aside, relationships are essential to our existence, our survival and our general mental and physical wellbeing.
So it behooves you to grow in your understanding of relationships, the different kinds and the very nature of them, so you can more easily make choices to benefit you in every relationship you may find yourself in from now till the end.

franugo:


I fail to see the answer bro...kindly expatiate

Hmmm...somebody who can create peace and at the same time create disasters...and you cant tell which one is coming....since He belongs to both sides, (light and darkness) it also creates both love and hate within you....

franugo:

But I did sir. If you look at the question posed, you'll see dt I said "..love and fear at the same time", I didn't ask for the fear of losing the relationship with the lord, that is of course very understandable....

That is what I answered. I depicted the natural connection between a Father and His children and the position of love and hate.

Love is always for family while hate is always directed towards enemies, never at family.

Thus, the children of Mob Bosses, Dictators and Kings are generally safe from his hurtful acts. The standard of his wrath against them is very very high but this is not so for strangers.

Therefore, as harmful as they can be to anyone this harm is not generally experienced by his children under the Law that "Provided the children have not sufficiently drawn his wrath" which they can verily do

franugo:

Now I understand that fear of His anger so flee from sin ..to an extent but I still posit dt fear is NEVER a solid foundation for a healthy relationship, same reason why most kids love their mothers more cause they fear their fathers more. When I was younger, I had a healthy dose of fear of my dad cause he specialized in knocks to the head, infact I remember almost running away then cause of sth I said, can't remember what now....now tho, I can boldly say I love him cause I no longer fear him. I still maintain dt no serious love can be found in a fearful relationship

You are right in your observation but the completion of it is in the fact that Fear Always Comes the Doing of a Wrong.(Offence/Sin).

As you saw you got knocks for your wrong doings and if you had continued in your wrongness, surely, you know how it would have ended, which is death.

But you grew up and stopped doing those wrongs and now you can see the love he has had for you which was there all along.

So as is Written, He who has done No Wrong, Has No Condemnation and Fear does not come.

But where there is offence, there must be fear Also as was clearly seen in Adam and Eve's case where they claimed "unclothedness" when in truth they had now become Afraid of God because of their Wrongdoing.

franugo:


I like ur explanation, it focuses less on fear and I think preachers should always focus less on it . There's a lot of fear mongering in churches, give or you will not receive, pray constantly or you will be crushed by the enemy, worship at my church or risk eternal damnation.... They irritate me slightly.

I am actually after balance, the position of Fear and the place of Love. Most Preachers are there to fleece you off your goods and not there to say the Truth which people hate to hear, therefore, they will and must be poor.

But I am always after a just and right balance and it is a good thing they irritate you, for it is the Defence Mechanism given you by God to flee from all wrong places.

Its been 2-3years since I last entered a church for the purpose of worship, to me they are no different from an event centre.

Kobojunkie:
I sense what you have been doing instead is judging your relationships and their worth to you.

I would advice any sane person against investing even an ounce of trust in any human relationship since by default we are fallible beings hence untrustworthy by nature.
That aside, relationships are essential to our existence, our survival and our general mental and physical wellbeing.
So it behooves you to grow in your understanding of relationships, the different kinds and the very nature of them, so you can more easily make choices to benefit you in every relationship you may find yourself in from now till the end.

Lolz, not at all bro. I simply do not scale the flimsy ones much on my scale of preference. I have very few solid relationships and several liquid ones