“He’s a federal appellate court justice based in Richmond,” my boss replied. “A Reagan appointee. He’s one step below the Supreme Court.”
That’s when my hands started trembling, and my heart beat like a woodpecker on an apple tree. The thought of seating a federal appellate court justice in my treatment room and interacting with him for 45 minutes was intimidating, to say the least. After decades of practicing dental hygiene, I was fairly confidant of my ability to meet his dental needs, but the prospect of making small talk with someone who renders judgments on matters of constitutional law and helps chart the judicial course of our country was way out of my league.
In the 20 years since that day, however, I’ve found Judge Frierson to be kind, funny, and easy to talk to. During one of his appointments, I discovered he likes ice cream as much as I do. As I’ve gotten to know him (and reminded him to floss daily), I’ve realized that he’s just an ordinary person. While the thought of what he does for a living still intimidates me, I’m no longer awed by him.
I thought of my experience with the judge recently when I read about God’s name, Yahweh. Translated by many as Jehovah, Yahweh (or, more correctly YHWH) is the primary and most glorious name of God. The best definition of YHWH is God the Self-Existing One.
God identified himself as YHWH when Moses asked him, “What shall I say to my brothers when they ask who sent me?”
“I AM WHO I AM,” God said, “Thus you shall say to children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14).
Did you know that Jewish scribes held the name of Yahweh in such high honor that as they copied Scripture, they’d select a fresh quill before they penned the name? And after they wrote YHWH, they would break the quill. They felt this particular name of God was so holy that the quill they had used to write it should never be used to pen ordinary, everyday words.
This reverence for God’s name, YHWH, I AM THAT I AM, is also why the Jews tried to stone Jesus in John 8:58-59. "’I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’
At this, they picked up stones to stone him.”
The thought that anyone would even speak the name of Yahweh, let alone claim to be him was worthy of stoning in these devout Jews’ minds.
Between then and now, however, something has drastically changed.
And I’m not talking about people who use God’s name as a curse word or blaspheme God by their unbelief. I’m talking about Christians. About me and about you.
Do we hold God’s name in holy awe? Do we pause before we approach his Word or his house? Do we pray flippantly and casually or reverently and respectfully? Do we ponder, even for a second, that the God who’s given us unlimited access to his presence is also the God who spoke the world into existence and holds our lives in his hands?
Maybe, like me with my patient, Judge Frierson, we’ve become so comfortable in our relationship with God that we’ve lost the holy awe we once had for him.
We must remember – God isn’t our pal. He’s not “the man upstairs.”
He’s our Savior and our Lord. The Great I AM. The Self-Existing One who needs nothing from us, yet gives us everything.
What a privilege to come before him without fear. To sit at his feet and learn from him. To read his Words. To hear the still, small voice of his Spirit and feel the comfort of his presence.
I don’t think we need to throw away our pens every time we write God’s name, but we can borrow a page from the ancient scribes.
What if, the next time we speak his name, or come before him in prayer, or open his Word, we pause? Think about who we’re approaching? Give him the honor due to his name? Then we’d be better prepared to snuggle up close and have a talk.
Now it's your turn. Do you think our Christian culture lacks reverence for God? How important is it? Leave a comment and share your thoughts. If you're reading by email, click HERE to visit Hungry for God online and leave a comment.
*The name is fictitious and the details have been altered, but the story is true.
Thank you this reminder. The reality of God is holiness. I've known Muslims who don't understand how casual we are about the Bible in how we treat it, i.e. leave it on the floor or the back seat of a car. That the Bible is only a book doesn't impress a Muslim that Christians view God as holy.
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