¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? ~ Deuteronomy 10:12-13, NIV

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God. ~ Proverbs2:1-5 (NIV)

Fear. Does God want our fear?
What does “fear” mean in this context?
By fearing God, we can avoid
being trapped by the natural pull
toward going our own way,
defying God and giving in
to the inviting ways of immoral behavior
and addiction. God is loving, merciful and forgiving;
but he also is holy, just and righteous.
With four young daughters,
Daddy proclaimed once he did not want
to call the roll before settling on the name
he meant at the moment. “When I yell ‘Suzy’
everybody better jump!” In years to come
as we told the story, Mother reminded us
he never did call “Suzy!” Daddy loved us
but sometimes he wanted our attention.
God loves us but sometimes he wants our attention.
Did we need to fear Daddy? No.
Do we need to fear God? No.
But pay attention? Absolutely!