Handle with Care

From the Pastor…    Handle With Care

 

                              “Our Father, who is in heaven, holy is your name…”

This week’s study of the Lord’s Prayer centered on God’s name being HOLY.  The main sense of holy is “set apart”; it connotes something or someone special, unique, or worth of treating with great care.

 

That made me think of Old Testament passages where the Israelites received clear instructions about cups and vessels, and how if they should happen to come in contact with something unclean the vessels should be purified in certain ways or even destroyed.  Vessels associated with worship were to be handled very, very carefully.

 

That made me think of fine chinaware.  We have a cabinet full of china in our dining room.  And, like your fine china, it is set apart for special occasions.  And it is handled carefully.  We don’t put it in the dishwasher.  You don’t feed your cat or dog out of fine china, do you?  It’s not pulled out for a picnic.

 

We should be equally careful with the name of God.  Not that God is delicate or fragile, but that He is special, unique, and worthy of our utmost respect.  One must admire Muslims for the careful respect they show their prophet; they never say his name without adding, “May blessings be upon him.”

 

May we claim the name of God and handle the name (and reputation) of God carefully; not just in our speech, but in our actions and attitudes.  How we interact with others reflects on the God we serve, for good or bad.  Let’s make it all good!

 

 

                          God’s best to you,     

                                   Lee