“Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name.” I remember one of my professors in seminary telling us the dictionary was one of the best Bible study tools we could own. So I looked up “hallowed;” it means “holy.”
So I looked up “holy;” it means “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.” We often sing about it, “Holy, holy, holy,” but do we know what it means?
I asked Siri, “What is the most perfect thing in the world?” and got back a list of 36 things from Matt Stopera at BuzzFeed.com; 34/walking into an air-conditioned building, 28/achieving the perfect milk to cereal ratio, 24/when the lights go down before the concert begins, 15/when the vending machine accepts your dollar bill on the first try, 9/wrapping a freshly dried blanket around yourself, 7/waking up at night realizing you have another hour to sleep, and 1/peeling the plastic from something you’ve just bought.
You might agree or disagree or put them in a different order; it’s certainly open to debate. What do you think is the most perfect thing in the world? The dictionary defines “holy” (and therefore God) as “perfect in goodness and righteousness.” And the Bible says that people who love God will strive to be like him, “perfect in goodness and righteousness.”
“After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Master, you know I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Master, you know I love you.” Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.” Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:1-19)
We know Jesus loved his Father more than anything, even life itself; so he died on a cross when his Father asked him to give his life for us.
Now I wonder, is there anything I (or you) love more than life itself?

Charles ‘Buddy’ Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Woodland – Bold Springs UMC, a marketplace chaplain, and with Mary Ella, a missionary to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.