My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 1:11)

God’s name is great. It always will be because of who He is. But that does not mean everyone recognizes God for who He is. In fact, more and more people in this country have rejected God and choose to live as though He does not exist. They do not consider Him or His name to be great.

Luther gave us an important reminder in his explanation of the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer.

Hallowed be Thy name.

What does this mean? God’s name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also.

How is God’s name kept holy? God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!

Luther wants us to remember that it is our responsibility to keep God’s name holy by the way we live our lives, what we do and what we do not do.

A passage that has been very popular in this nation over the last couple of decades is 2 Chronicles 7:14.  You see it on yard signs and bumper stickers and lots of other places. It is a great verse because it encourages God’s people to humbly pray and seek God with the promise that God will forgive and bless them. But pay attention to how the passage starts.

2 Chronicles 7:14 …if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

We are the people called by God’s name. The world recognizes us as such. His name was placed on us when we were baptized. That sacrament joins us to everything Jesus did for us. His death for sin is our death for sin. His victory over death is our victory over death. We have the certainty of forgiveness and life eternal because we have been called to faith in Jesus and we have His name on us. It is our job, our calling, our duty to represent Him in a way that will let His greatness be evident.

This is more important now than ever, especially in light of the deep divisions in this natio. Let your words and your actions be a reflection of our great God, His love, and His compassion.

Remember our goal, summarized at the end of the hymn “Sent forth by God’s Blessing:”

“Then may all the living, with praise and thanksgiving, give honor to Christ and His name that we bear.”