From the pulpit: God's holy name

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (Matthew 6:9)

Names are important. Names are more than just a handle. Names are about the reputation, the purpose, the connected meaning of a family’s life. But what exactly does it mean for us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God’s name be kept holy? And how should we teach children about this?

A family’s reputation depends on what its family members say and do. When we pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” we are praying that we will say and do things that build up the reputation of God’s family in the world.  When we speak the truth and we do acts of kindness we are honoring God in our lives and helping to promote His name. That is what the Lord’s Prayer means about God’s name. God does not need our prayers for his name to be holy. It is holy in and of itself. But our prayer is that we might be among those who keep God’s name holy in own words and actions. We want those words and actions to line up with how our heavenly father wants his name to be understood in the world.

Children should be taught that what they say and do has an impact on how God’s name is heard in the world. When we use the names “God” or “Jesus” in meaningless ways then we dishonor God’s name. God’s name is intended to be used in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. When we cherish God’s name and use it in consistent ways that show that we value it above every name then we are in line with our prayer to hallow God’s name. This needs to be taught very carefully to our children both by instruction and by example.

But it is not just our words that count. After all, actions speak louder than words. We need to live our lives in ways that speak God’s holy name. Honest dealing with our neighbors is a key to this. So is care for those who need our help. Kindness and politeness also come under the heading of actions that honor God’s name. When we train our children to be socially sensitive, we need to challenge them to go beyond serving themselves. We need to encourage them to serve God, to honor and hallow his name.

Through Baptism we have been adopted into God’s Family. In that adoption God gives us his name as our own. How we live, what we say and what we do each day either brings honor or dishonor to the name we have been given. We need to attend carefully to that; not for the sake of our salvation which Christ gives to us freely, but because we care about the holiness of the name of God.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:15-16)