His Name

When Aiden was in grade 1, he was asked to be the narrator for the kindergarten class during the school's Christmas concert. The class was acting out the biblical Christmas story, and everything was going great in practices except that the student chosen to be the narrator insisted he couldn't say 'Jesus' because it was a bad word. No matter how much his teacher and his mother tried to explain that it was okay in this case because he was saying someone's name, not swearing, the little guy was adamant that it was a bad word. At the time, it both amused me (for his insistence on following the rules he had been taught) and made me sad (because he associated the name of Jesus with cursing).

I remembered that long ago Christmas concert the other day when I read Matthew 12:21, which says, "And his name will be the hope of all the world." We've all heard people use the name of Jesus as a swear word or as an exclamation when surprised or amazed. It's everywhere. For a lot of people, His name is just another word, one whose meaning they never stop to consider. Yet the Bible tells us His name isn't just another ordinary word, it's the hope of all the world.

As believers, we know why. His name is hope because by calling on Him in faith we are redeemed, saved from our sins, and restored to relationship with God. His name rescues us from eternal death and moves us into the kingdom of God. His name is precious and powerful, which explains why Satan has put it into the mouths of unbelievers as a swear word. If he can get people used to saying it as either a bad word or just a regular, everyday word, they'll never recognize the power it could have in their lives and they'll stay stuck where they are.

How can we teach the world to recognize the power in His name, to see the hope in what they think is a bad word? The only answers I can think of are to live well for Him, demonstrating the hope and the life He gives us, and to share the truth we know whenever we can, all while using His name in reverence and love.