Ananias & Sapphira

I was terrified the first time I read the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.  There is still some fear in me as a read and reflect on this story today.  I hear myself saying, “I’m in good company” because the people and the church at that time were seized with great fear (Acts 5:5, 11).  I also hear myself saying that this fear is normal and healthy.

I mean, don’t you think it’s normal to be afraid of someone who has the power of life and death?  Besides death, God has shown that He has power over sickness, demons, and nature.  Jesus also said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

It’s a healthy fear because we are told that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 1:7).  It’s healthy because the fear of God is the starting point, but we are not to stay there.  We know this because Peter starts off his second letter with “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2) and ends with “Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

How do we know we’re growing?  Scriptures tell us, “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear” (I John 4:18) and Paul ends the 13^th chapter of I Corinthians with, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

Knowing God

When John leads a class, he asks a lot of questions.  When we began studying Isaiah, John asked, “Why study the Prophets?”  There were several responses but not the answer that I was thinking of.  I study Isaiah and the Prophets for the same reason as I study the rest of the Bible—to know God.

How important is knowing God? I’m glad you asked.  The Apostle Paul says that everything else is “dung” (KJV) in comparison and knowing Him is so phenomenal that he desired to share in Jesus’ suffering (Philippians 3:8-11).

God also tells us not to revel in our abilities, intelligence, or possessions but to celebrate the fact that we know Him (Jeremiah 9:23-24, paraphrased).  David got that.  This is why he declares, “Your love is better than life.” (Psalms 63:3).  And hymnist Mary Artemisia Lathbury obviously had a taste of The Heavenly Manna as she penned the words, “Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord; My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word,” in her hymn, “Break Thou the Bread of Life.”

We need to know God not only informationally, but we need to know Him personally because we cannot truly love someone we don’t know.

Let us be people who can confidently stand with the Apostle Paul and declare in one accord: “I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted Him for that day.” (II Timothy 1:12)