Leviticus 22

“You are to keep My commands and do them; I am the Lord. You must not profane My holy Name; I must be treated as holy among the Israelites. I am the Lord Who sets you apart, the One Who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.” Leviticus 22:31-33 (HCSB)

A few years ago, my wife and I were visiting New Orleans. I recall passing by one of the T-shirt stores and seeing a shirt with this logo: “Jesus is coming. Everybody look busy!”  It seemed funny, like the “Jesus is my homeboy” apparel. But it begged the question: How well do we rate (as both individuals and our Church culture) when it comes to revering the NAME of the Holy God of all creation?

Although spoken about the priests as the appointed guardians of the Sanctuary, this commandment (both in its positive and negative forms) was applied to the whole of Israel. We should be exceedingly guarded in our actions so that we do not tarnish or degrade in any way the Name of the Lord.

In some of the rabbinic writings of Orthodox Judaism, the faithful observer is warned against any misdeeds against a non-Jew as an unpardonable sin because it gives a false impression of the moral standard of Judaism. In short, wrongdoing against anyone tarnishes God’s Name. The idea is that every Jew holds the honor of his God, his faith, and the entire Jewish community in his own hands.

God chose to LOVE us through Messiah Jesus, even while we were yet sinners. But His affiliation with us does not make Him any less Holy. His desire to be close to His created people only heightens our understanding of an aspect of His Holiness, and it causes us to worship Him with tremendous gratitude and respect.    

Today, I don’t want to drone on & on. I simply want to ask you to consider the question:  How well are you doing in 1) Regarding the Lord as Holy, to the extent that it changes how you live according to His Word and 2) As a co-inheritor with Jesus, how well are you representing the Family, the NAME you have inherited by Messiah’s atonement?