Hallowed be Thy Name

It was like déjà vu. I found myself involved in the same discussion. I heard some of the same comments. I even heard myself saying some of them. There were two overtly obvious differences: I am now forty years older, and sadly, the culture in which we live, really has regressed at least forty years in our reverence for God.

My first memory of this discussion was in a class at a Baptist Bible college in the early 70's. We were handed a reverentless rewrite of the Lord's Prayer. It began: “Hal-low-ed be Thy Name, Oh Lord. I like the ring of it. It's like…wow! You could almost snap your Almighty fingers to that, couldn't you, Lord.” And of course it went on through the prayer in the same tone. Every word of the prayer was there. I guess the writer was attempting to bring it to an earthy plane for the hippies of the day. Nothing was missing…except the reverence.

And here we are, forty years later. “Where has the reverence gone”, he asked. In many circles, we would be appalled if someone prayed like that. Yet, in perhaps many of those same praying circles, there is no reverence for God. In fact, statistics tell us that a large percentage of those who call themselves Christian, do not pray. We live in a country that was founded on God, yet has so often tried to remove the very reference to God from the public. And so what have we done with the reverence? Even in some of our worship services, reverence is slipping between the music beats and through upraised hands. And I am not against music, or drums, or raising hands. But you know what I mean. We are missing the reverence.

I was a very young Baptist girl when I married. My husband asked me to marry him just ten days after we met, while we were counseling in a Christian camp. (He says he found what he wanted…he knew it… I accepted him…So why wait?) I remember that I cried myself to sleep that night. I was crying because I had said “yes” without praying about it first. Now, believe me, I prayed afterward. And I have been married happily to my wonderful Christian man for 37 years. But that night, I was grieved that I had not asked the Lord about it before I said “yes”. As a Christian, I needed to know what God's will was. I wanted to please Him. He must come first. And knowing all of that, I quickly answered “yes”. (Actually, my first response was “If God wills.” But then he wanted a yes or no…) No regrets! Now I know that God led us and we have followed Him. But at that time, my spirit was sensitive to the fact that I had acted without seeking His leading.

I can't help comparing my quick response to such a life changing moment to how easily it is for us to go about our daily decisions and actions with nary a thought for what God would say about it. If I honor Him, worship Him and put Him first in my life, then everything in my life should be built around pleasing Him.

And in the fast pace of today, there are so many more things vying for our attention. I am ever increasingly aware that there must be a deliberate effort to put God first. There seems to be only a fine line between reverence and irreverence. Indeed that line is so subtle that crossing it is not only commonplace, but often unnoticed. Like so many other issues of importance in our lives, we try to measure the honor we give to the Lord. Do I honor Him enough? Can we honor, or reverence a little? Can it be measured? Or is it a ‘we do' or ‘we don't' thing.

I turned to Webster:

Honor : (transitive verb) 1. To esteem somebody or something…to have or show great respect and admiration for somebody or something. 2. Exalt somebody: To recognize somebody publically or elevate somebody's status officially.

Reverence (noun) 1. Feelings of deep respect or devotion. 2. (Transitive verb) To regard somebody or something with deep respect.

Hallowed : (adjective) 1. Sanctified. 2. Specially recognized as, or declared sacred. 3. Respected…regarded with great respect or reverence. 4. Made holy or consecrated.

All of these definitions imply to us that we, greatly respect, honor, or reverence someone, or we don't. I also researched ‘devoted'. I found that one who is devoted is entitled to worship because of divine character or origin. So honor should be given where honor is due. And certainly that is to God, because of His divine character and origin.

Excuse this little bunny trail, but we must also make it clear that we are talking about honoring God. The only one and true God. The God of the Bible. The Beginning and the End. The only one who shed His blood that we might have life. Jesus Christ. Yes, the only Way!

There is such a monstrous movement of deception today that would try to influence you to honor a god…whatever god represents to you. Remember that deception will contain a little truth to persuade you to believe the lie. Just because it appears good, emphasizes unity, says we shouldn't judge, gives to the poor and any number of other good things does not make it truth. The new spread of ‘oprahnology' may look good, but remember that anything or anyone that teaches another gospel, or that god is what or whomever you choose to worship, is false. We are to worship the Lord God, and have no other gods.

I am not talking about religion. I'm not talking about being serious. I'm not talking about rules and regulations. But if you are a Christian, I pray that you are challenged, as I am, to do a personal check. Is my life all about pleasing Christ? Are there ways that I have left the reverence and stopped honoring Him?

We don't have to look far to see how desperately we need to put God first. We are seeing the signs of the times in every arena. Within our government, bills are developed and laws passed with no regard for the God on which our country was founded. And it will do us good to remember that it is not in our talk, but in the power, or the way that we walk. (I Cor.4:20) They may not always listen to our signed petitions, our rallies, and our speeches. But you had better believe they are watching our bowed heads, our actions, our reactions and our reverence.

In reading through Isaiah this past week, I was reminded over and over, that if we seek Him, and put Him first, we will not only see results, but we will make a difference. If we honor Him…If we put Him first… “…all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.” Is. 61:9 With all that is going wrong around us, those who honor God will be lifted up.

The manifestation of Christ and His church will be seen. It is longed for. It is a manifestation of relationship and reverence. Let us be rallied to awake, arise, put on our strength, and reflect His glory by giving Him first place.

And so I boldly pray “…Hallowed be Thy name, O Lord. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:9-10

© Susan Chapman Brown