For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
He is the Son of God, the child whose name was called Immanuel, which means "God With Us". Joseph was told to call His name Jesus, for He would save the people from their sins. Jesus is our great Savior. He is wonderful, that is for sure, and by His Holy Spirit, He has become our Counselor, the One who is always with us. He is Mighty God - a reminder that when we are weak, He is strong and we can experience the strength of His might. He and the Father are One, and we know that God's nature as Everlasting Father is expressed in the Son. And, Jesus is our Prince of Peace - He gives the peace that passes all understanding. Think on His names as connections to His nature.
We can gain a greater appreciation of the nature of Christ as we reflect on His names. Isaiah 44:6 offers us a few of them:
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.'"
It apparently started during a racquetball game, when two friends decided to talk like pirates and then to celebrate a holiday where people would be encouraged to do the same. Now, Talk Like a Pirate Day, perhaps one of the most offbeat, oddball celebrations in the human observance of special days, is commemorated every September 19th. It took off when columnist Dave Barry devoted an entire piece to the day, and he made a casual mention of Krispy Kreme donuts. He wrote:
Let's make this into a grass-roots movement that sweeps the nation, like campaign-finance reform, or Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I truly think this idea could bring us, as a nation, closer together.Well, at some point, the donut people started giving away free donuts on September 19, and a free dozen if you dressed up like a pirate, utilizing 3 distinct pirate accessories. And, Long John Silver's (who else?) offered a free piece of fish. And, you could go to several websites and receive, yes, your own pirate name. One, in fact, had you go through a litany of 20 questions to determine your name. Others were more simple, just type in your name. One gave me "Second Mate Treacher". I like "Skylarking Butch" better, to be honest with you. I think I really prefer the "Dread Pirate Robert", which conjures up memories of a mythical character in one of my favorite films, "The Princess Bride".
But not TOO much closer. Some of us will have swords.
Name generators are harmless fun, you know. There seems to be no shortage of them. It is said that George Lucas had a formula to create some of the strange sounding names from the Star Wars films. Here's how that works:
To get your Star Wars First Name:
1. Take the first 3 letters of your last name.
2. Add to that, the first 2 letters of your first name.
Your Star Wars Last Name:
1. Take the first 2 letters of your mother's maiden name.
2. Add the first 3 letters of the name of the town in which you were born.
That would make me Cribo Tumar. A variation Jedi Name Generator says that I would be Cribo Fomar of the planet Amoxycillin - yes, your planet is the name of a - prescription drug!
A couple of the themes that I find myself returning to, because I think it's important, is the power of words and the significance of names. One of my favorite wall posters that I owned in my younger years had the names of Jesus that were displayed against a black background. As I recall, the words, "I AM" provided the centerpiece for the poster. I actually went online today to seek it out, but wasn't able to locate it - but there were quite a few. And, we can learn so much about our Lord's nature by reflecting on His names. Let me just list some of them:
Good Shepherd
Bread of Life
Alpha and Omega
Redeemer
Savior
Messiah
Advocate
Light of the World
The Word Who Became Flesh
The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
And, as Isaiah 9:6 reminds us, He is called, "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace." Celebrate our Lord Jesus, whose name is above every name and who has a number of other significant names that tell us more about our marvelous Savior.
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