Friday December 1, 2023

 

In February of the year 1981, in England, the great “Prince of Preachers” Charles Haddon Spurgeon said the following about Jesus Christ: “I know my words cannot honor Him according to His merits: I wish they could. I am quite sure to fail in my own judgment when telling out His excellence; indeed, I grow less and less satisfied with my thoughts and language concerning Him. He is too glorious for my feeble language to describe Him. If I could speak with the tongues of men and of angels, I could not speak worthily of Him. If I could borrow all the harmonies of heaven, and enlist every harp and song of the glorified, yet were not the music sweet enough for His praises. Our glorious Redeemer is ever blessed: let us bless Him. He is to be extolled above the highest heavens; let us sound forth His praises… May the Spirit of God help both heart and lip to extol Him.” 

 

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it have been? Would it have been the same name as you have now, or would it have been different? Why would you have chosen another name? Because you like the way it sounds? Or does it have a special meaning for you? Do you think that it describes your personality and character better than the name that you have? 

And what about your last name? What is it? Do you know where it comes from? Many last names have very interesting origins and backgrounds. 

So, what about your first and last names? It would be interesting to know where they came from, wouldn’t it? 

 

In ancient Hebrew society, the Israelites took the choosing of the names of their new-born children very seriously. They never selected a merely fashionable name, or a name that just sounded good. They wanted their children to have meaningful names – names that not only identified them, but that also described them. 

That is why Jesus Christ has so many names and titles and phrases that describe Him in the Bible – because He Himself is infinite, without limits, multi-dimensional, multi-faceted and indescribable. But even so, He reveals Himself to us through His many designations so that we might be able to know Him and understand Him, esteem Him and love Him. 

Throughout the whole Bible, there are more than 350 names that describe the Son of God. Some of those names were given to Him during the Nativity – and these are the names that we will highlight and extol in these next days. 

 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

AND HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED..."

(Isaiah 9:6)

 

The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, speaking of Jesus Christ:

“Therefore God has highly exalted Him

and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,

so 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.”

(Philippians 2:9-11)

 

Dear friend: I hope and I pray that, through these reflections highlighting and exalting just some of the names that were given to Jesus Christ at His birth, you too will be able to bow your knee in His name, and will be able to confess with your tongue that He is Lord. Together with the 4 living creatures, the 24 elders and millions upon millions of angels in the heavens, I trust that you will be able to give honor and glory, praise and adoration to Him who lives forever and ever. 

+ REFLECTIONS