Still working on my word by word, stop and ponder posts focusing on the Lord’s Prayer- Here’s what we’ve done so far. Click on the word to read the post.
And now for today’s word…
Be
Such a little word, but I think it implies a lot.
Hallowed BE your name.
He could have said hallowed IS your name or WAS or WILL BE. But no, he used only the word BE. Hallowed BE your name. Now I’m sure this is where knowing the original language could make me sound real smart, but alas, I wimped out of taking Greek in college, so I can only offer my simple thoughts here. And I really only have one thought for this devotional.
God is, was, and always will be.
For some reason when I started thinking about what I would say, I thought of John 8 when Jesus proclaims, “Before Abraham was, I am.”
Sometimes I restrict God to my idea of time. The past, the present, the future, and I don’t see him in terms of being outside of all of that. He was God ten thousand years ago. He is God today, and He will be God for eternity.
To me, saying BE instead of any of those other choices implies a constant state of being. Always.
It’s hard for my brain to grab the idea of always. Life here is transient. What is it like just to be? What will it feel like to have no time constraints, no looming end to hurry us on our way? What will we say then?
Hallowed BE your name.
Be.
It’s a pronouncement of sorts. A stopping in the present, looking at the past, and acknowledging the future all rolled into one statement that demands the name of God be recognized as holy. Always.
Always. Because he is always, and whether I believe it or not, eternity is real, not just for God, but for you and me as well. I’ve been reading the New Testament, and there’s no way around it. Eternal life is talked about all over the place in there. Check it out.
Be.
Hallowed BE your name.
Always.
[…] Our Father in Heaven hallowed be […]