At Christmas - Celebrating The Richest Of All Names

"Today's Devotion" For December 22, 2005

Read: Matthew 1:18-25; Philippians 2:1-11

AT CHRISTMAS - CELEBRATING THE RICHEST OF ALL NAMES

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." (Mt. 1:21)

One of my favorite internet sites for bizarre, strange, and otherwise out of the ordinary information is located at Netscape.com. Perusing the site last night a rather interesting article caught my eye. It was titled, "Baby Names Your Should Never Use." Along with the title information further discussion was offered concerning names that "bring wealth," names that are most common, names that are considered the most sexy (mine isn't one of them), and names that we might consider really bizarre. It will come as no surprise, I'm certain, that the name Jesus appears nowhere on any of the lists.

Most interesting from the perspective of the names that are supposed to connote wealth and success is the fact that my wife's name, Susan, is right at the top of the list of women's names. My name, Richard, is seventh on the men's list. While we do consider ourselves spiritually "wealthy" and blessed by the Lord, there's pretty good evidence represented by our bank accounts and bills each month that our names haven't brought us any of the wealth the researchers into these sorts of things suggest we should have.

What struck me about this research data is that human beings are always looking for a "leg up" on the competition. Perhaps if one's name is in the "wealth" category then better times and greater resources and material things might be "in the cards." On the others hand, having one of the "sexy" names could also be a way to greater success and notoriety. Certainly, it might be safely said that if anyone has one of the most common, popular names, which over the past five years have been Jacob and Emily, some might say that those bearing these names aren't too special or unique and thus unimportant.

Lest we pooh-pooh the importance of names, it should be noted that God Himself considers names to be important. He gave Adam and Eve their names. He changed Abram's name to Abraham to better describe what Abraham's mission and purpose in life as God's servant was. This was also true of Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel. God sent the angel Gabriel to Zechariah, not only to announce that he and Elizabeth would have a son in their old age, but that his name was to be John, contrary to the Jewish custom of naming a son after his father. But the most emphasis in Scripture upon a name and its meaning comes when we hear the announcement of the angel to Joseph, instructing him to take Mary as his wife and to name the child to be born of her, Jesus - a name that means "Savior."

At Christmas we are celebrating the birth of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the world. The name of Jesus carries all the power, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God with it. He is the Savior promised by our Father in heaven to Adam and Eve already in the Garden of Eden. The name of Jesus is the richest name of all. It brings God's love to bear in the hearts of all who believe in Him. It's a name that brings hope and peace to the world as God reaches out through His Word and Spirit to bring a lost and fallen world back into His loving arms. The name Jesus, as given to the One and Only Son of God, is an exalted name filled with all of God's power and majesty, as Paul writes to the church at Philippi: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).

Jesus - the name that is the wealthiest and richest name to be found in heaven or on earth - is whom we celebrate at Christmas. We carry His name with us, living lives that fully reflect His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, humbly bearing the name Christian. So we Christians, at Christmas, celebrate Christ, who is also called Jesus, who "will save His people from their sins." His is the richest and most exalted of all names and for that we rejoice and give thanks each day, for He has, in fact, "saved His people from their sins."

Prayer: Father, forgive me for so often forgetting that there no name more precious and vital to my life than the name of Jesus, Your only-begotten Son. He is my Savior from Sin and the Promised Messiah, the Christ, Whom You promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In these latter days You have sent Him into the world so that the whole world might be saved through His blood. By Your grace and mercy I have been called by Your Word and Spirit in Holy Baptism to be Your very own child and daily receive Your forgiveness for all of my sins. You have showered Your forgiveness in Jesus on me, saving me through Him, that I might receive every blessing from You and be filled with every good thing that comes from Your hand. As I again celebrate the solemn feast of Christmas, rejoicing that the One who is called "Jesus" came to earth to save His people from their sins, fill me with Your Spirit that I may be a loving and winsome witness to the world around me of the true purpose and meaning of Christmas and the name that is the richest of all names - Jesus. In His precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.