Dr. Swindoll does a masterful job connecting the text of 1 Corinthians 10 to our lives today. He ends his sermon with a call to "keep the awe," but doesn't offer any clear direction regarding the means to accomplish this. I think the passage does. What was their problem? They lusted after evil things. And why is their example included in Scripture? That we should not lust after evil things. I think it was this very "lusting" that led to the idolatry, the sexual immorality, the tempting of Christ, and the complaining - the sins listed after the statement about lusting after evil things.
So, how do we keep the awe? We stop lusting after evil things. Or, stated positively, we "lust" after God. To avoid the connotations of the word "lust," let's say "seek," or "desire," or "pursue," or, as the Psalmist, "long for," "yearn for," "pants for," and "thirsts for" God.
Keep your awe of God by choosing to keep your awe of God. Take time to marvel at His glory. Take time to express gratitude for His mighty works. Take time to value His character. Take time to love Him. Choose to love Him. Seek to love Him more. Make that your daily endeavor. And, as you do so, take no notice as your "lust" for "evil things" begins to disappear.
Pursue the Awe. Pursue God.
