The Act of Honor
Honor is an act of loving one another. How many ways are there to show honor? The Fifth Commandment, “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 commands us to honor, show respect, and obey.
Honor comes from Father God. Reading the definition of Honor brings many words like honesty, fairness, and integrity into how we live.
What makes up this love in the great commandment and the second that Jesus gave. Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39.
Honor means loving each other with acts of love, bringing joy, being peaceable, showing kindness, patience, gentleness, goodness, and faithfulness. In all things practice self-control. These are the Fruit of the Spirit, this is the way Honor shows in the way we live. Galatians 5:22.
Who shows Honor and when? Honor does not wait until death. True Honor is to the living. The first ones we show honor to is our parents. They teach us to obey. They are our first teachers and caregivers. Without their teaching, how would we know how to love others? How would we know how to obey God without our first teachers?
My mother recognized the flip of our role from childhood to caregiver as I cared for her until her death. In the years before her death, she still taught me many lessons. She taught me how to live and she taught me how to die.
As a girl, I learned how important it is to obey. One day I came home from school, and found a note: Dear Daughter, please wash the dishes. Love, Mom. I found other things to do. I didn’t mind Mother. When she came home, she found me reading a book, and asked, “You didn’t wash the dishes?” She motioned, and I followed her to the kitchen. Slowly she unwrapped the tea towel, revealing a Hershey bar of candy she left for me.
I learned a lesson of obedience, and still wonder, who ate the Hershey Bar. Obeying God has small rewards all along the way. Reading and applying scripture gives us treasures to store in our hearts. Praying brings us peace and teaches us to be patient waiting for the answers God supplies. Doing kindnesses for others brings us joy and peace.
One of the favorite psalms holds these words of Honor. Psalm 23:2-4. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
How does God honor us? Oh, you didn’t realize the Honor goes both ways?
Genesis One tells us how God honors us. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. Genesis 1:1-5.
The rest of the first chapter tells of the other five days and the preparations God made for Man to live in the Garden of Eden. God must have been excited about all the plans He had for Adam and Eve.
God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.
God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27.
God’s presence, His steadfastness, His great love, sending His Son Jesus to earth to be the sacrifice for our sins. God constant forgives us.
While we live in the world, and He created everything; I hear all creation whisper, God is Love. This is the Honor given to us by our Lord God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. Psalm 19:1-4.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. Psalm 19:1-4.
In the evenings and mornings, you will find me searching for His presence through the stars, the moon, and the sunlit days. On cloudy days, I say, “I love you, God, I know You are here!” Then I remember how our Lord watches our loved ones who have gone before and keeps them from tears and pain.
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” John 14:1-4.
The last portion of the commandment is – Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. This is our true honor from God.
All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; He alone is God. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17
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