THE NAME - Lighting Darkness

The Name which is awesome

No one likes to have their name misused. I dare say, most of us prefer our names to be used with respect. Suppose your name were Peter. Suppose, further, that most people never used your name except as a swear word. To ridicule someone they might say, “Oh my Peter! You really messed up!” To react to something incredibly brutal they might say, “Oh my Peter! How awful!” If your name were Peter, you probably wouldn’t like that very much.

There is one name, however, that deserves absolute respect more than any other: the name of the LORD God, Jehovah, or, equivalently, the name of Jesus Christ. The third of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). The word “vain” means “empty.” His name should never be used without a sense of awe, wonder, and adoring worship. It should be used only with deep respect for the one to whom it refers.

In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus Christ the Lord, came as the substitute blood sacrifice to redeem His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). This should fill us with awe and wonder. It should drive those that do not yet know Him, as Lord and Savior, to cry to Him for mercy and forgiveness. When you speak of God, are you careful to use His name soberly and with reverence, or is His name just a word you use to emphasize the exclamations of your own mouth?

Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ as your loving God and Savior, or do you toss His name about in a vain manner lacking reverence?

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