Hallowed be your Name

The litmus test of authentic Christian action in the world is whether it is the enacted prayer, "Hallowed be your Name." There is much good that can be done and is done without reference to the Name. But being born again means being reoriented to the Name. The Christian who rises in the morning to pray, "Hallowed be your Name," is - or ought to be - asking: In all of my public and private actions, bring honor to your Name. It is not, "Let me seek the common good." No, the good we seek has been radically redefined by the One who says, "No one is good except God alone" (Mk 10:18). It is, therefore, His good that we seek in the world. We know by experience that the honor of His Name IS good - and we therefore must seek it in prayer and in public action in the world.