The meditations of my heart on this subject started rather unexpectedly. I was thinking on the verse in Luke 10, where Jesus said the disciples should rejoice that their name was written in the book of life. 'Behold I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven'. Luke 10:19-20 (NKJV).

It was the thought of having my name in heaven that began to fill me with honor. I am honored to have my name written in heaven. I thought through on the basis for my name or any one else's to be on the list in heaven. The first is salvation, when we get saved our names will be noted in heaven; those who love God get recognized in heaven; when we get sold out on God in consecration heaven recognizes us; the service we render to God with all our hearts gets us on the roll-call. Heaven protects, provides, guides and reveals things to all whose names are written. Rev 3:4-5; 20:12,15; 21:27. Have you considered the honor of having your name in heaven?

Can you consider how many ways we have been honored as believers? We are saved by the Blood and kept by the power of God. Consider the love of God and all his provisions in the new covenant and imagine how honored we are to belong to such a great God as we have.

It is in the light of being honored that I perceived the Lord saying, "How much have you honored Me? Do we really honor the Lord? "Magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together" says the psalmist.

I looked at the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and wanted to know how much honor He gave the Father. What I saw was startling. What was going through the mind of the Master on the cross? He was honoring the Father through obedience; we are just beneficiaries of His obedience to the Father. Think about it. He loved us but His ultimate focus was His Father. John 5:41,44. "I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame]", "How is it possible for you to believe [how can you learn to believe], you who [are content to seek and ] receive praise and honor and glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise and honor and glory which come from Him who alone is God" Verse 44 Amplified bible.

All these lead to the issue of our motives in everything we do. We actually have conflicts within us because our motive for service or giving is usually not to honor God. Some give their tithe not with the sense of honor but of duty. Are we ready to honor the Lord with our time? Romans 12 talks about presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. When we use our bodies, what is the motive for doing what we do? What about our talents? And our treasure?

In the English dictionary, honor means among other things:

1. A sense of honesty and fairness.
2. Pleasure or privilege
3. Give praise and attention to.

We are honored to have the privileges and our response to God should be an honest acknowledgement of His goodness as our source. Out of this heart of gratitude we offer our time, talent and treasure in full measure with the right attitude or honor.

Rev. Kola Ewuosho