What's in a Name?

Imagine life without names. What would you tell your kids in that phase where everything is "What's that, Daddy?". "Well, sweetheart, that's a gray furry creature with a long tale and small head that eats nuts and lives in trees...". It would get a little complicated wouldn't it?

We can thank Adam that our world is not full of nameless creatures. As soon as God had finished His work of creating all things, "He brought them to Adam to see what he would name them...". Yes, that's one thing Adam got right.

Without names, you and I would be just another face in the crowd, another among millions of humans, engaged in living our lives. Your name distinguishes you from all the others that could be confused as you. Without it, you're just "hey you" to the world. It reveals you as a "one and only" to others.

Christmas all begins with a simple name. To Joseph, the angel whispered "you will call his name Jesus...". And that very name separated this precious child from all others, and later, from the wannabe's, the contenders, the pretenders, the self appointed, and presumptious. "You shall call his name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins..." It was this Jesus, born of a virgin, that was named by God before He was born, and given a "name that is above every name". Given a name that identifies Him over the myriad of others through the corridors of time claiming to be messiahs. He's the "one and only" of God. And God indentified Him with a unique name.

Names are important. Shakespeare opined, "... a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet." But some names could never be changed and be the same. Without His Name, we would not know salvation, forgiveness of sin, peace and life eternal. Taking the holy name out of the holiday may be politically correct, but robs it of any meaning. It is impossible to have Christmas without Jesus.

"Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one." Acts 4:12