Revere

I can’t say for certain, but I suspect that Paul Revere is no longer being taught to the young children who are currently in school these days. To be clear, this article has nothing to do with Paul Revere, but in case those reading this are uncertain as to who he was, Paul was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot. He is best known for his midnight ride to alert the colonial militia in April 1775 to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord. In other words, he was alive during our country’s American Revolutionary War.
Now that I’ve concluded this brief history lesson, my article’s title is actually referring to the word revere, which means worthy of great honor. Adore, glorify, reverence, and worship are similar words that also reflect the meaning of revere. To help us clarify even further and add to its definition, revere means to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully. And while we’re at it, why don’t we include love into the definition as well.
Psalm 33:8 NIV8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.
1 Peter 3:15-17 NIV15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Now that I’ve started us thinking about the word revere and its definition, do we truly honor and admire our Lord profoundly and respectfully as we should? I trust that we do, but I can only answer that question for myself and not for anyone else. I guess the next question that I should ask myself is; do I always answer the previous question as I should? I believe that these type of questions require some level of self examination on our part, and as I see it, our goal in this life is to keep our minds focused on doing good and being able to answer similar questions correctly and honestly. And then there’s this final question, at least for this article; do we love and revere God as we should?
Mark 12:30 NIV30 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’