December 25
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel…And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (from Isaiah 7:14; 9:6)
Yesterday, we began talking about the names associated with Jesus — identifying His character qualities before He was even born. Once born, those qualities became a reality for every soul that embraced Him as Savior and Lord. Today, we continue…
He also bears the name Mighty God. This comes from a term used quite a bit in olden days… “champion.” In those days armies would have their mighty men and then their mightiest of men… their single champion (Goliath, for example). Not only is God with us, and giving us His expert advice, but He is also there to “fight” on our behalf. In the arena of life, where we are surrounded by “enemies” on all sides, we not only have a Mighty Champion battling for us… but our Mighty God is All-mighty.
He is also Everlasting Father. Everlasting is self-explanatory. God is not only with us – He will never leave us… forever! But He also occupies the place of Father in our lives. Again, this doesn’t mean much to us these days (when the role of a father is seen pretty much as financial provider and little else). For many people, the concept of the father even conveys some really bad feelings. But in Bible days a father was the pinnacle of the family. Providing, protecting, nurturing, setting the “tone” for the whole family. Fathers were the central figure in the family – connected with, and lovingly involved in every family member’s life. Think of the best qualities of a father – these are the qualities of The Messiah… wholly committed to what is best for those in His whole family.
He is also named the Prince of Peace. He is with us. Guiding us. Protecting us. Perpetually watching over us. And also governing our lives (in accord with the will of the King). At first thought, we don’t really like the idea of someone ruling over us, calling the shots for us. But when we understand that His rule over us is drenched in His love for us and that His every desire for our lives is our peace and prosperity – we realize that the best thing that can happen to us is to yield the rule over our lives to Someone who only wants what is best for us. And when we are surrendered to the Prince, we get something in return that we never imagined… indescribable Peace! When we know that the totality of our lives is under His Almighty command and care – we know that nothing can come our way that has the power to derail or destroy us. This fact brings amazing, unimaginable peace to our hearts.
Oh, and one more thing about peace. The Hebrew word is “shalom.” It is more than a greeting or simply a wish of peace for our lives. Shalom means several things all at once… it is completeness, soundness, wholeness, wellness, favor, perfect peace (regardless of circumstances). It is fully descriptive of God’s favor for us and the manner of substance that His favor brings to our souls! The Prince is the author of “Shalom” to our souls – forever!
Today, we celebrate the birth of our Savior. But He is so much more than that. He did not just come to rescue us from drowning in our sin and guilt. He came to accept us as His Personal responsibility. He came to bring us into His family – and to Personally be with us, guide us, counsel us, lead us, provide for us, go to battle for us, nurture us, discipline us, and love us with an everlasting unconditional love.
This Christmas, when we take the time to look into the manger, we need to see our Savior for Who He really is…
Immanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… Jesus!
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