His Name

Simply mentioning his name can infuriate people. Others roll their eyes, snicker, and give knowing glances. For many, his name brings childhood memories of Sunday School, Mission Friends, Vacation Bible School. Memories that usually involve juice and cookies if they were raised in the south. But one thing the mention of his name never evokes is indifference.

Anyone who drew breath this morning experienced a miracle. Every cell in our bodies, and of the body of every living thing, has so many intricate systems working together in tandem that it couldn’t exist without them all. Life itself is a miracle.

Everyone has an opinion about him. Some claim he doesn’t exist, but somewhere down inside there’s the niggling question, “But what if he does?” Others think he spoke the world into being and went off on some other project or sat back to see what would happen. Many want him to be real, but don’t understand why he would do the things he does. No one understands the whys. No one really gets his reasons for allowing some things and not others, for healing one sickness and not another, for saving one person and allowing another to die tragically.

People use his name to curse one another, bless one another, to vent when things go wrong. They use his words to pick and choose what they want to believe, or prove, or discard. Some devote themselves to showing contradictions in his teachings, his words, his life. But all of them know his name.

He was born in a stable, turned away by the keeper of the inn. He was laid in a manger by parents who were probably in disgrace in their hometown because he was conceived before marriage. He was sent away for his own safety because the authorities wanted to kill him. He grew up in a small obscure town in a humble home in the humblest of circumstances over 2000 years ago. And yet, you know his name.

He brought a message of love, love for his Father, and love for others. He brought a message of reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace. He associated with the outcasts of society, those shunned by the religious, and those considered unclean. He touched those no one else would touch, healed those no one else could heal, loved those no one else would love. His name echoes down from the beginning of time and will not be silenced. His message is written on our hearts. Even the rocks would cry out if we tried.

His ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts, but unfathomably higher. His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom, his weakness stronger than our strength. In him we live and move and have our being.

He is sovereign,
holy,
worthy.

The paradox? To have the life He offers, we must lay down control. To have the freedom He offers, we must surrender. We must put down our anger, put down our hatred, put down our fear, our unforgiveness. We have to lay it all down at His feet.

And, when we do that, we can look up into the eyes of Love.

Those eyes hold peace like we have never known.

We all need Him and He is all we need.

Christ
Messiah
Immanuel
God With Us
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
The Bread of Life
The Alpha and the Omega
The Beginning and the End
The Lamb of God
The Son of God
The Son of Man
Light of the World
Savior
He who was
and is
and is to come