FATHER IN HEAVEN…

Father has a lot of feeling doesn’t it? There’s a lot of weight to that word. To some it is better than others. Personally I’ve struggled with this. I’ve had a good relationship with my own father followed by a bad one and then good again. And over the years I’ve come to have a profound respect for my dad. But regardless of the respect, it was never the bond you’d see in 90’s sitcoms. The hug out your problems kind of relationship. It came with it’s own baggage.

Before you think I’m throwing my dad under the bus, I’m not. First, he just raised me the same way he was raised with some improvements. As I’m sure my Grandfather did with him and as I am doing with my own children. Second, I was no saint. I didn’t exactly make it easy to just hug it out.

I’m sure you have a certain feeling you associate with “Father” just as I do. It might be completely different than mine. Maybe the same or otherwise. But we can all admit that the word, or rather the name, “Father” is a loaded one.

So how does Jesus unpack Father? What does he attribute to the name? “Hallowed be your name.” Well there you have it. That was easy. His Father’s name is Hallowed. What does that mean though? Is your dad’s name hallowed? My dad’s is not. And certainly my own title of father isn’t either. It doesn’t matter what the relationship may be with your earthly father; good, bad, or otherwise. He is not perfect. To proclaim that his name is hallowed is to say he deserves incomparable praise.

Again, many dads out there are pretty dang awesome. I like to think that I’m not so bad at fatherhood either. However, I’m also not disillusioned enough to believe I’m worthy of being included in the “hallowed” category. So consider what Jesus is proclaiming here in Matthew 6:9:

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’”

He is making two statements really. First, “Our Father.” He is caring, intimate, the giver of life, authority. Second, “Hallowed be your name.” Worthy of all praise, incomparable, set apart from all others. This sounds nice doesn’t it? And fairly easy to grasp. But what sets God apart? Why is his name hallowed? What if I said just as he is loving, that he is equally terrifying? Equally tender as he is dangerous?

Some of those words almost feel wrong don’t they? And many people may even disagree saying, “Not my God!” But that’s just the point. He’s not YOUR god. God cannot be contained. He cannot be fully known. Controlled. And that’s a little dangerous and terrifying isn’t it?

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
- ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:28–29

A consuming fire. That doesn’t sound like a controlled, happy-go-lucky, peaceful description of God does it? The writer didn’t say our God is a candle or a torch. “Our God is a CONSUMING fire.” Uncontrolled, unpredictable, and sometimes even unwanted. But when that description is also tied into the idea of “Our Father,” what does it paint the picture of?

For example read Revelation 4:8–11.

“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’”

Reverence. Pure, unadulterated reverence. Our Father…Hallowed be your name. When we combine the sentimental God (Our Father) with the dangerously mysterious God (Hallowed) we get the God of the Bible. Try and separate the two elements and we are back to a man made god.

No offense, but I don’t want your god. I want OUR God. Our Father in Heaven. The one with the hallowed name.