HalleluJah

The Hebrew words mean praise God.
Hal'lú means praise.
Jah means God.
Together, they are a confession of adoration.

You can say, "Hal'lú, Jah" to speak to God,
To say, "Praise, God,"
As if you are reminding the LORD
That He has value.

Praise and Prize come from the same root:
To appraise something is to consider its value.
How should God be appraised?
How shall we consider His value?

One way is to consider the value of homeless boy,
With dirty skin and matted hair,
Who smells of street and unwashed clothes.
The Light of God sparkles from his eyes.

Another way is to consider the value of an ancient woman,
With deep creases in the skin of her neck,
And thin, white hair, like a cotton ball set out in the sun for 80 years.
What treasure lies within her heart?

When I look in the mirror, will I, too, see worthiness?
When I look at my face, will my lips declare praise?
Shall I consider the work my hands do and declare, Hallelujah?
Love God. Love your neighbor. Love Yourself.

Who is my neighbor?
The beaten and oppressed, Christ says.
Who is my neighbor?
The widow and the orphan.

How shall I appraise you, God?
I value you as One who brings water to my lips in a dry desert.
I value you as One who lifts me from the pit where my brothers have buried me.
I value you as One who delivered me from the army of a mighty king who has encircled me.

I value you as one who gave me a gift in my despair,
Though I had robbed the temple,
Though I had eaten sacrifices made to Baal,
Though I had darkened the eyes of Uriah,

You offered me wine from a cup of gold,
You offered me bread from your table,
You offered me light from seven silver candlesticks
To illumine my path.

How shall I sing, now, Jehovah Jireh?
What value is there in you,
Who preserves me at every wicked turn of my heart?
What value in He who breathes into my lungs,

As he did in Adam,
When he formed his body from red clay,
Dust from the ground,
And pulled a companion from the cage of his beating heart?