I strongly believe that all humans have immense value. I mean all – it doesn’t matter what the age, ethnicity, IQ or any other way in which we can separate people. Nothing actually makes one person more valuable than another. There is an equality naturally built into this belief. This value that I hold is grounded in the way Jesus treated humanity and what the Word of God tells us regarding Jesus’ work to save us – all of us. Even though this has not been lived out perfectly by the church; it has been a driving force behind the mission work of the Church for 2000 years.
I am thankful that the U.S.A. claims to be built upon “That all men are created equal…” but we would need to be either pretty naïve or selective as an information gatherer to believe we have been a total success at this. As a nation, we have failed to do this within our borders and at times we’ve also exalted our value due to our citizenship over the other humans in God’s creation.
I gave you the above context to drive home the fact that the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer stands against universal equality of everything. What? Let me explain. The problem is that there is a vast difference between saying that “everyone has immense value” and “everyone is right."
· There are things that are true and there are things that are false.
· There are things that are good and there are things that are evil.
· There are people helping others and there are people that need to be stopped because they are harming people.
What do we base these decisions upon?
This brings us to back to the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer which is our theme for this Sunday’s message – “Hallowed be your Name”. When we pray this we are saying that God is above all and we are not in any way, shape or form equal with Him. We [all of humanity] are equal in our need for His grace and truth. The problem is that we have been guilty of imposing or applying our “good intentions” of equality and value to God. We have made His commands and promises just one of many voices like Bill O’Reilly or Oprah or our really nice neighbor.
When we do this we have just removed the foundation for truly valuing people. We no longer have a universal place of truth to hold up as the reason for this belief and the actions that flow from that belief. In God’s Word is the right way to live together.
When we “hallow God’s Name” we are worshiping God rightly and seeking His guidance all the days of our lives. When complexities, joys, sorrows, temptations and triumphs come we set them in the framework of living as God’s people. With that as our context, God reveals himself and His perfect ways. We find life!
Hallowed be the Name of God,
Pastor Nick
I am thankful that the U.S.A. claims to be built upon “That all men are created equal…” but we would need to be either pretty naïve or selective as an information gatherer to believe we have been a total success at this. As a nation, we have failed to do this within our borders and at times we’ve also exalted our value due to our citizenship over the other humans in God’s creation.
I gave you the above context to drive home the fact that the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer stands against universal equality of everything. What? Let me explain. The problem is that there is a vast difference between saying that “everyone has immense value” and “everyone is right."
· There are things that are true and there are things that are false.
· There are things that are good and there are things that are evil.
· There are people helping others and there are people that need to be stopped because they are harming people.
What do we base these decisions upon?
This brings us to back to the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer which is our theme for this Sunday’s message – “Hallowed be your Name”. When we pray this we are saying that God is above all and we are not in any way, shape or form equal with Him. We [all of humanity] are equal in our need for His grace and truth. The problem is that we have been guilty of imposing or applying our “good intentions” of equality and value to God. We have made His commands and promises just one of many voices like Bill O’Reilly or Oprah or our really nice neighbor.
When we do this we have just removed the foundation for truly valuing people. We no longer have a universal place of truth to hold up as the reason for this belief and the actions that flow from that belief. In God’s Word is the right way to live together.
When we “hallow God’s Name” we are worshiping God rightly and seeking His guidance all the days of our lives. When complexities, joys, sorrows, temptations and triumphs come we set them in the framework of living as God’s people. With that as our context, God reveals himself and His perfect ways. We find life!
Hallowed be the Name of God,
Pastor Nick
