+ God’s reverence:
The book of Revelation reveals to us a part of the reverence of God as much as our limited human understanding can comprehend ” And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” ( Revelation1: 13-18). We also see the four living creatures ” Full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist[c] and were created” ( Revelation 4:8-11). And Lord describes Himself in Malachi saying” For I am a great King,” Says the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations” ( Malachi 1:14). My beloved, the Bible is full of countless verses that dignify and give glory to the Lord. Yet, let us ask ourselves today whether we glorify our God, as it befits?! I dare that the answer would be no. Did we truly experience the true kneeling before God and the prayer in spirit and truth?! Then have we tasted the sweetness of God’s praise in our hearts and minds, sharing the heavenly and saying” Holy,Holy,Holy?! God asked His children to honor Him” A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?” ( Malachi 1:6).
+ How can we honor God?!:
The simplest way to honor God is for Him to be first in everything in our lives. For He is The first and last, The Beginning and The end. The question for each of us is what do we start our day with?! Do we start it with thankfulness, prayer, kneeling, and glorifying Him as our Savior and Giver of life?! Do we undeservedly follow Him as our Father?! Or does the beginning of our day focuses on getting ready for work, rushing before the traffic jam; not forgetting our cup of coffee or tea, or …. Or …….etc. Then do we honor God with our money, which is from Him and through Him, He who gave it to us as trustees, so we can spend it on what glorifies His name and what benefits us in our lives so we can be qualified for the everlasting heavenly kingdom with Him?! The book of Proverbs says” Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase” ( Proverbs 3:9). The firstfruit of money and time and all what’s in our lives has to honor God first. Even when we move to a new residence, we invite the priests to pray in the house to honor God that he might Bless this move. Isn’t that what Solomon did when he built the Temple for the Lord?! ( 1kings:8). The greatest honor to God- The Holy Trinity- is believing in Him, and His work in us, and by accepting and obeying His work all the days of our lives until His kingdom come. The Father has loved us since the beginning, creating us through His word, who is The Son, and made us alive by His Holy Spirit( Genesis 1:26-31, 2:7-25). And when Adam fell into the old serpent’s temptation, our God did not abandon us, instead, He revealed His unlimited love” For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” ( John 3:16). The love of The Father was revealed by sending His only begotten Son, resembling us in everything except sin alone. And the love of the Son appeared in obeying His father’s love for us even until His death on the cross. Then, the love of the Holy Spirit appeared on the day of Pentecost, giving birth to believers everyday through baptism, staying with us, taking from Christ and giving us(16:14). My beloved, he who lives in the Word of God and receives the Holy Trinity in his life through the Word, prayer and church, honors the Lord” What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord” ( Psalm 116:12,13). He who surrenders his life and mind to the Works of the Holy Spirit shall receive the blessings from God, resembling his Master and becoming the light of the world and salt of the earth” Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” ( Matthew 5:16). We honor Him by preaching others through Christ’s life in us, supported by the Holy Spirit within, and by the strength of the Lord’s Body and Blood” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” ( 1 Corinthians 11:26). We need to know that keeping the commandments of the Lord in our hearts, and showing them through our behavior in our daily lives, is one of the greatest ways to honor God and show our love towards Him as a Father” If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” ( John 14:23).
+ The blessings from honoring God:
We know that God can not be in debt to anyone. Therefore, whoever honors God shall be honored from Him in multiple folds. For example, he who honors the Lord of his money in tithes and offerings, will be blessed according to His promise” And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts” ( Malachi 3:11-12). God’s reward to those who honor Him can not be confined, not only on a personal level, but also publicly in front of the whole creation” Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’