In the Shadow of the Cross

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Our God’s name is being smeared and tossed around like some common slang or worse yet –without any reverence whatsoever. A large part of our society has now degenerated to the point of reducing God’s name to an acronym. OMG, which is short for ‘Oh My God’; as if the blasphemy is now too cumbersome to say completely, it is now decreased to an acronym. Yes, this is blasphemous term or phrase, and people who talk that way have no reluctance, remorse nor any recoil when they misuse the holy name of God in that manner!

What happened? No reverence, complete indifference, apathy and utter and blatant blasphemy- that’s what happened! Am I surprised? No, I’m not. God warned us in His commandments not misuse His name. In His omniscience, He knew it would happen.

”You shall not misuse the name of the Lord, your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name”

(Deuteronomy 5:11 NIV)

Folks, this is no small infringement. It is extremely serious and demands our immediate obedience and/or repentance. If one has no comprehension of the awesomeness, totality of holiness and the righteousness of God, then one would need to understand the complete depravity of their own sin, and the huge gap there is between the two. Words like ‘holiness’, and ‘righteousness’, and even ‘sin’ are rarely spoken of outside of a few church walls, and some Christian circles. But these are not merely words, their meaning and significance in the context of honoring God are essential to fully understand where we are, which is in utter depravity and emptiness before our holy God. In other words, without completely comprehending the darkness of our own sinfulness, we cannot grasp the awesome and extreme holiness of God, and His holiness demands our deep reverence and praise. (Jesus bridges that gap, and that is a whole other article to be written later)

Isaiah, when he was thrust into the throne room of God, he had seen God and described Him as high and exalted, the train of His robe filled the temple and His angels sang, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory” Isaiah’s reaction was to cry out in fear and shout, “Woe to me"! I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty”

(Isaiah 6: 3-5 NIV)

Isaiah was scared to death! He instantly realized he was in the presence of Almighty God and that he was a wicked sinner who lived among wicked sinners. He saw in full contrast the ugliness of his sinful nature and how it was so contrary against the beautiful glory of God, and this intense realization penetrated to his inner core and he cried in fear. The same reaction occurred when John saw Jesus in Revelation 1:17. Jesus told John ”Do not be afraid, I am the First and Last, I am the living One, I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades”

(Revelation 1: 17-18 NIV)

Notice that Jesus comforts John by saying, ‘Don’t be afraid”. Why would he say that?

Because John was afraid! His own sinfulness hit him between the eyes and he was scared, and fearful. He realized he was in the presence of our Holy Lord and Savior –Jesus.

Even though we do not have face-to-face encounters with God, we are still in His presence and He is still our Holy and Almighty Father, and we should live in deep respect and honor for who He is, and most certainly His name!

In Deuteronomy God told his chosen people-Israel that blessings would be granted for their obedience to Him and conversely they were warned of curses for disobedience.

”If you do not carefully follow the law which are written in the Book and do not revere His glorious and awesome name –the Lord your God- the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters and severe and lingering illnesses”.

(Deuteronomy 28:58-59 NIV)

Why would God give such a warning? Because He is a holy God, and inherent in His holiness is our requirement to give Him honor, praise, worship and reverence.

Think twice before you smear and trivialize God’s holy name. “Well, I don’t mean anything by this’...or…“I’m not meaning any disrespect” ...or... ‘Well, it is so common, everyone says it”… or... “Come on, God can’t be offended by such a small thing”. Statements like these compound the irreverence! You mean to tell me that God’s name is so trivial and worthless to you that you don’t even realize that you smear it through the mud every time you misuse it?

Would you smear the name of your parent by calling your father- a worthless, cheating bum, or your mother – a prostitute? If you would think twice about vomiting your filth on the good name of your parent – why not the supreme and greatly exalted name of our Lord and God, whose name is infinitely more sacred!!!

Before you text OMG on your cell phone or computer, stop and think about what you are about to do. Think about who God is. Stop and remember what Christ did for us, what it cost Him to redeem us. The very air you breathe and the blood in your veins comes from HIM!!!

Turn the blasphemy of ‘OMG’, into a prayer or a God-honoring statement. Turn the disrespectful ‘Oh My God’…. into a meaningful prayer “Oh my God, you are Holy and Righteous. Your grace and blessings are undeserved. I am a sinner and You are an awesome Holy God. You gave your only Son freely to us so we can call you Father and have our sins wiped clean by His sacred and sacrificial death. Thank you God for everything!!

Whisper it or shout it out loud….

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