Life in the Grove

Names are important. Names represent the totality of who we are. We don’t like it when people mispronounce this label of our soul. Forging a name is a crime. Plagiarism is a lie. Names matter.

Business cares about name recognition. Product branding is a big deal. Names matter.

New Parents labor over choosing just the right name for that little bundle of joy. Names matter.

The wise teacher is careful with the names of her students. Names matter.

God cares about His name. It should be no surprise that one of the Ten Commandments would be focused on the proper use of God’s name. As is true of all the commands, this one is a warning sign to keep us speaking well of God. Read the third commandment in a couple of translations…

(NIV) “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

(ESV) “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

Whatever you think God is talking about here, you must admit, God cares about how we use his name.

How might we use God’s name in vain? How can we express our freedom to love God by speaking well of Him? These are some of the questions we will think together about on Sunday morning.

There is a lot more to speaking well of God than avoiding cursing. So let’s catch the vision of speaking well of God. After all, we are free to love our Heavenly Father. In fact, why not prepare for Sunday with a prayer that really fits with this discussion. You know the one…

Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name…

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A voice from the not too distant past is often helpful in provoking thought about things I’ve heard before. A. W. Tozer wrote in his book, The Pursuit of God the following reminder:

“Among the famous sayings of the Church fathers none is better known than Augustine’s, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.
“The great saint states here in few words the origin and interior history of the human race. God made us for Himself: that is the only explanation that satisfies the heart of a thinking man, whatever his wild reason may say….” - Tozer, The Pursuit of God: 33

Earlier in the same volume Tozer had reminded us:

The modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of His Word. We have almost forgotten that God is a person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can. It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored. - Tozer, The Pursuit of God:13

How easy it is to lose sight of the privilege of knowing my Creator! How easy it is to be distracted from actually connecting with God, from getting to know Him on a deeper level! I know it takes time to develop friendships among fellow human beings. So, a whole hearted investment is required of me. Significantly, my effort is always in response to God’s initiative. He has already moved toward me.

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