Our Father

"Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name (Matt. 6:9)."
This beginning phrase of the Lord's Prayer is very important for how we should view the God of the Universe.  This phrase that seems so simple, is packed with a great necessity for us to call the name of God to be holy, or the wholly other being.  The holiness of God is to be venerated by humanity, it is to be respected, lifted high above every name.  A good look at this verse will hopefully help you understand God's holiness in greater light.
The Greek text says, Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου, which is translated to say "Father of us the one in the heavens; hallowed the name of yours."  Again, it is important to state that the Greek does not do sentence structuring very well, but finding what the subject and objects in this sentence help to see what is important.  Since the subject Πάτερ is the phrases main focus, I would like to focus on this word and how the rest of the phrase gives meaning to who the Father is and how this Father is characterized.
First, the Father is "the one in the heavens."  Now, this phrase does not affirm that there are multiple heavens that God is in.  Nevertheless, the Father remains the provider and sustainer of the heaven and the earth.  God is the one is over and above everything.  This God is our Sovereign ruler who governs everything.  Humans can trust that God will be there for you in times of trouble and persecution.
Second, God's name is to be "holy" or "hallowed" which means to be separated.  This presents God as the "wholly other" that is far beyond our comprehension.  This God not only governs the heavens and the earth, but is held separate so as to say that God does not have, what Christians identify as, sin or a defect with our being that needs fixed.  Showing that God is the holy one presents God as one to be worshiped and glorified.
I have presented these ideas based on what most of us have understood God to be.  One area that I have been challenged in personally is that even though this God is "wholly other," this God is also in relation to His creatures.  This does not dismiss God's separateness or holiness, but this holiness is an example of how we are to live.  Let me explain this through the meaning of grace.
God's holiness presents a characteristic of grace that is accepting, forgiving, and loving.  Humans are welcomed into a beautiful relationship with the very God of the universe that created and seeks His people to be in relationship with Him.  The rest of this prayer gives meaning to how humanity can be in relationship with this God.  God shows that He wants to participate with His creatures, God calls us to participate with Him, to accept Him, and to truly love Him and worship Him.  As God's creatures, we do this by giving our lives to Him.
This giving of our lives involves a deep commitment to God that worships Him as the only thing we want.  Giving our lives can be a scary way to describe this, but God wants our full attention, He wants everything from us.  Its amazing to me how humanity is welcomed into this opportunity to be in relationship with the Creator but continually turn the other way.  Spread this news of God's love, begin to see God's creation as something that God truly loves.  If God's creation begin to see God this way and the world as something that God wants to participate in, then the world becomes a place that offers hope and love that can be life change.