How Do We Hallow God’s Name?
Good Morning Friends,
Today is the first day of school where we live. Yesterday in church we had the blessings of the backpacks and each student was given a little keychain flashlight to attach too their book bag as a remembrance that God’s light is to shine in their lives as a witness… even in the hallowed halls of academia, but perhaps more so at the dark bus stops. And it got me to thinking that there will be lots of prayers in school today, even if there are no tests. As one child voiced in church, “the day is complicated.” And that got me to thinking about the Lord’s Prayer and the words therein about recognizing the holiness of God’s complicated character…of the Great I AM That I AM…of Jesus’ I Am statements. And somehow now on this dark morning it seems more of a statement than a request. Still I pray the question: How Do We Hallow God’s Name?
Scripture: He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.’
Luke 11:2 (NRSV)
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Now, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you shall deny yourselves and present the Lord’s offering by fire;
Leviticus 23:26-27
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
John 15:16 (NRSV)
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, every time Jesus says, “I Am” …”the Resurrection and the Life…The Vine, The Way, The Good Shepherd, The Gate, The Bread of Life and the Light of the World,” He is proclaiming His sovereign supremacy and giving us some insight into treating God’s name and character as holy. You see, the “I Am” of Jesus is a variation of the covenantal name of God shared with Moses at the burning bush and it was so sacred that it was only uttered by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. And so with that feast day in mind and the start of school as the focus of our prayers we seek to hallow God’s name. And here even as we consider the majesty of God and the enigma of humanity, we wonder why we would do anything less than honor God’s name. For sure tarnishing God’s name is dangerous business.
You see God’s name represents His character and the Bible is filled with stories of people who did not fare well who chose to malign it and profane it. Furthermore our calling as Christians is to bring glory to God so it only follows we would want to lift up His name. Working for the Kingdom to come. Doing something in Jesus’ name can be the same kind of thing…formed out of relationships more than rules. Of course, we do not want to misrepresent God’s character by taking the name of God in vain. Our supreme desire should be to glorify the name of God by the way we live. And so, we ought to pray daily, as Jesus taught us to, that God’s name be treated as holy. Here in prayer we are schooled. Friends, God has delegated to us authority to exercise dominion over the earth and is some ways we have succeeded and in others failed. And so, I imagine we hallow God’s name when we acknowledge we are the pinnacle of God’s work of creation, but all so insignificant compared to God. We hallow God’s name when we acknowledge that God’s glory and power are manifested in all the corners of the created order…when we acknowledge that God’s methods are not ours…that the beauty, complexity and vastness of the created order is God’s… even when we acknowledge we were created in the image of God. It should be obvious to you that when we taint the name God it hinders others from loving God as their heavenly Father. Disrespect for God guides others to lose their reverence of Him as well. The better known names for God tell of God’s character as the creator, the most powerful, strong and mighty Lord, the I Am who I Am, the one who gives deliverance, forgiveness and guidance, the one who provides, heals and rallies us, the one who makes us holy and sanctified, the one who returns, the one of integrity, and compassion, the God of peace and righteousness, the everlasting, and the seeing Messiah. It is good to honor God’s name, but maybe we cannot hallow God’s name at all. Maybe all we can do is experience the holiness of God’s character as God sanctifies us.
Pray we enjoy an intimate connection to God as our light and truth. Pray we experience the honored, holy and wonderful name of God. Pray that God’s majesty and love be a comfort to those who feel unimportant and insignificant. Pray we realize that our hands are gifts from God to be used for His glory and purpose. Pray we realize that God thinks we are worth something. Pray that we have the mind of Christ in us. Pray Jesus names for us our sins and heals us silencing the enemy.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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