The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
Many times throughout The Bible we are told about fearing the Lord. I have struggled with that concept of fearing God, as I have read that God is good, God is love, and God forgives. As time has gone on, I have realized that I have over simplified His blessing. He certainly is the things mentioned, but he is also holy. So holy, in fact, that He has no place for sin.
Thankfully, Jesus has saved us from that sin and bathed us in His holiness. Even with that being the case, we are also called to be holy. We should have such reverence and respect for God that we actually fear him. We fear what he could do with our sin and what he could do to us for our sin. We need to fear that he sees us as we really are and not as we hope to be.
Fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge because there must be absolute truth in the world, otherwise there is nothing we can learn to be absolutely correct. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of this knowledge, of seeking wisdom, and of coming to know God.
Fear the Lord. Know that he is God. He gives wisdom and instruction out of His endless love.