A great and perhaps overtly obvious tragedy of Western culture today is that nothing is sacred. In fact, one could go even further and say that the defining feature of our ‘progressive’, post-Christian society up to this point has been the systematic, deliberate dismantling of everything that was ever considered sacred or held in high esteem – whether in the name of academic criticism, political protest, philosophic exploration or artistic expression.
There is a natural and logical process at work here. When we hallow God’s Name, we are declaring as sacred – set apart, holy, worthy of special honour – His very character and person, as both Clifford Denton and John Quinlan have intimated recently on this page. This means that we naturally hallow His laws and standards. We hallow His desires and plans. We hallow His way above our own.
But when we rebel against God, the inverse process takes effect. We desire to hallow our own ways above His – and so we set about proving that nothing is sacred, that no-one is set apart, so that we do not have to answer to any higher calling or standard than our own. We find any way we can to avoid acknowledging that there is a Being higher than ourselves who might deserve our worship or obedience.
Unsurprisingly then, as the West has abandoned its Judeo-Christian heritage, rejecting the set-apartness of God, every boundary He has asked us to respect has been transgressed, and every relationship He has ordained has been twisted or polluted.
Living Counter-Culturally
For Christians trying to live obediently in this environment, holding fast to principles that are being warped and inverted by the rest of the world, things can easily get demoralising. Living out the reality of hallowing God’s Name in every area of our lives is difficult. We cannot expect to receive any help from the world around – life is now set up to encourage us away from hallowing God’s Name; we are swimming against a very strong tide, requiring both courage and strategy on our part.
The exciting thing, however, is that living to hallow God’s Name immediately makes us counter-cultural: we naturally stand out with a distinctive way of life that others will notice and envy. As we honour His Name and treat it as sacred, so the Holy Spirit imprints something of that same sacredness on our lives, for we exist in His Name. So, living in a way that hallows God’s Name requires great courage – but we should also take great courage because of the opportunities it provides for witness.
Drawing Near to God’s Name
It is here, in this call to shine our light in the midst of darkness, that God’s Name takes on new significance for us. As well as being worthy of the utmost honour and respect, Scripture tells us that His Name is our salvation (Acts 4:12), our path (Micah 4:5) and our strong tower (Pro 18:10).
In other words, as well as deserving to be set apart and honoured above all others, God’s Name is something with which we each need to engage. If His Name is our salvation, we must learn to depend upon it with our entire beings. If His Name is our path, we must learn to walk in it humbly. If His Name is our strong tower, we must learn to run into it to find safety and shelter.
This is the paradox of the Kingdom: that that which is holy and set apart is simultaneously that which we are called to draw near and know closely, intimately. We are to hallow God’s name and yet also hide ourselves in it. We are to be His devoted and humble servants – and yet also His beloved children. We are instructed to fear Him – and we are also commanded to love Him with our entire beings. His Son, Jesus Messiah, is Lord of Lords and King of Kings – and yet also our brother and friend. He is glorified over and above all Creation – yet He is also Emmanuel, God with us.
The crux of true Christianity – what the world desperately needs to see at this time - is the holding of these two perspectives together, simultaneously. If we have the former without the latter, we risk ‘religion without relationship’, so to speak. We miss something of the closeness God desires to have with His people. If we have the latter without the former, we reduce God to our level and – like the rest of the world – make what is sacred profane.
No Compromise
The only Church that will thrive in the midst of such a Godless, honourless, hopeless culture as we currently endure is the Church which will devote Herself to loving the Lord with Her whole being, without compromising on hallowing His Name as sacred and set apart, and living accordingly.
Only then will we become ambassadors of the eternal truth that there is One who is sacred, there is a Name that deserves to be hallowed - and there is Someone who is worthy of all honour and praise.
Author: Frances Rabbitts