Once again we meet on a first day of the week to honor our Father in heaven, to remember our Lord Jesus Christ and to encourage one another to an obedient walk.
The third Sunday in June has been chosen by many as a special day to honor our earthly father. It is true that we must love and respect our natural father, but it is much more important that we love, respect and obey our Heavenly Father.
What an enormous opportunity we have. What a responsibility! When he was asked, “What is the greatest commandment,” Jesus’ reply was: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.” That is certainly a challenge and we need to ask ourselves how we can do it.
First, we must learn all that we can about Him and what He wants us to do. Second, having learned what He wants done, we must make every effort to do it. Our love for God is demonstrated in the way that we obey His commandments. “The man who receives my commands and obeys them — he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my father; and I will love him and reveal myself to him” (John 14:21).
Are we ready to graduate?
The month of June is graduation month. We spend much of the early part of our lives learning things and receiving an education to prepare ourselves to take care of our needs for this life. But what are we doing to prepare ourselves so that we live our lives in a way pleasing to God? Only if we please Him will we receive everlasting life and a place in that glorious kingdom that Christ will set up on earth when he returns.
We may not know exactly when our Lord will return, but so much prophecy is being fulfilled that we must make every effort to be ready. We need to educate ourselves as to what God wants. Are we ready for the greatest graduation day of all time?
Special days used right
During the past 50 years, the custom has been established to pick one day in May to honor mothers and a day in June for fathers. This is a fine idea if is used right and not used to justify neglecting our parents the rest of the year.
In the same way, we meet the first day every week for a particular form of worship. It is fitting and proper that we should so honor God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As with our natural parents, however, our service should not be limited to only one day.
Honoring our Father’s name
As we know, the prayer Christ taught his disciples begins, “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” The idea behind these opening lines is the same as that behind the third of the ten commandments, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.”
Anything that is hallowed is holy, meaning that it is reserved exclusively for use in a respectful approach to God. Hallowing God’s name is the exact opposite of using it to blaspheme or to add vehemence to our speech. All too often it developes into an automatic habit. In such a case, God’s name truly is used in vain. If we love God, we will not show disrespect to Him by irreverent use of His name.
Let us honor our Heavenly Father by loving Him, obeying Him and respecting His glorious name.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One