Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…this word “hallowed” is unfamiliar to us, but it is so important. Often the Bible talks about God being, not one or two “Holy’s,” but rather, Holy, Holy, Holy! God is so very Pure, so very Powerful, that if we were to approach Him in any ordinary way, we would be vaporized…just like in our solar system, if we tried to go near our sun, that would be the end of us!
We can praise God that His most awesome power is Love because it is His Merciful Love that sacrificed Jesus for our sake. It is His Almighty Love that will bring our dead, old selves to Eternal Life. And it is His Constant Love that continues to be patient with us as we transform into His Holy Image. God is Holy, Holy, Holy and we should be grateful, reverential and humbled by His Love.
The Proverbs talk about how “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and that is part of what “hallowed” means. We should have great respect and awe for God, but we also should be a bit fearful of Him too. Fearing to hurt the Holy God, Who loves us more than we can grasp, is a good fear. It keeps us away from sin that will only destroy us, and draws us closer to this Loving God that wants to bless us. We are not called to cower in His Presence, but to have great respect so that we understand how Holy He is.
For example, if we were to hold volatile, explosive dynamite, we would move cautiously and respect the material or it could cause all sorts of damage, right? This is the fear the Bible is talking about and it should cause us to choose to obey His perfect and beneficial Will, more and more, as we grow in Christ. God will not be mocked…we must choose to have deep reverence for Him because this mighty God loves us. He is worthy of all our love, trust and obedience. Let us decide to hallow His Holy Name.
<>< Peace, Diane
