In summary, what do you believe is the defining characteristic of God?
The servant here believes that his master is a severe man, and so his fear drives him to act in a certain way. Everything is shaped by his fear of the master. Imagine how this might have been different if he believed that his master was kind and gentle -- he would've thought differently about the money that was entrusted to him.
In the same way, our belief about God will shape how we live and act. If we believe that God is harsh and severe, then we'll respond in fear. We'll be enveloped by it, and will think about obedience in terms of how we can avoid punishment.
If, however, our belief about God is that the same God who comes to judge is the God who comes to save, and we read the New Testament and see a God there who comes searching for us, then we'll respond differently. We'll be motivated by love and gratitude rather than fear.
So what do you believe? What does the broad witness of Scripture tell you about God? It's important that we read widely and form that belief for ourselves, for we'll act out of that over all our days.
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