Honor

Honor

We ask God to give you . . . spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.

THE CHURCH SANCTUARY WAS FULL, but still people streamed inside. From my vantage point near the front, I could see additional folding chairs being set up, crowding the back wall. By the time the service began, the seats were filled, and people had begun to collect at the edges and spill over into the hallway and front foyer.

It was my sister’s funeral, and I’d never seen our church so full.

At twenty-eight, Katrina’s death felt premature and—though she’d been battling breast cancer for five years—shocking in its suddenness. The day of her funeral, many spoke of her character, her warmth, and the way she could draw people into her sphere so easily.

In the few decades she’d spent on this earth, Katrina had lived with a fullness and joy that enveloped those around her. She was part of the leadership of her local MOPS, worked with her church’s women’s ministry, and sang on the worship team. Even as her body weakened, she consciously chose to live in a God-honoring way. And the fruit of her life was evident from the crowd that strained the confines of the church to honor her memory.

The word honor sounds like something old-fashioned, part of court proceedings or a page from the medieval past. Today, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ most prestigious award given to military service members who have distinguished themselves through acts of valor.

But in the Old Testament, honor is often used to talk about showing reverence to God. It’s both a characteristic, a description, and an action. When we honor God, we reflect his name. Our words make him known. We worship, respect, and elevate his name. And we do so by loving God and loving others. When our actions demonstrate that we aren’t doing things for our own glory, he is the one who is honored, and the evidence is in the fruit we produce: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Lord, help us to honor your name in all we say and do. Amen.

-Kristin

One Good Step: Consider whether or not your daily choices honor God. In what ways do you reflect his name to others? What kind of fruit does your life produce?