Faith
What Will You Call Him? by Dr. Doug Thrasher
Dr. Doug Thrasher is the Senior Pastor at Hillside United Methodist Church. He is also a member of the TowneLaker’s Community Board. You may contact him at dthrasher@hillsideumc. org.
One of the privileges of becoming a parent is that you get to name your child. I remember when Debbie and I were expecting our first child, how we looked at names and read books with names and had to come up with both a boy name and a girl name because we didn’t know whether we would have a boy or a girl until our baby was actually born. (I know, the dark ages.) And when our child was born, we named her Brianne. Later, we had a son, and we named him Jordan.
We are entering a season when we celebrate the birth of a baby. But, unlike my children, this baby was not given a name by his parents. He was named by God. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
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TowneLaker | December 2012
Jesus has been given many names since his birth. He has been called Emmanuel, which means “God with us;” he has been called King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Light of the World, Bread of Life, Son of God and the Good Shepherd. All of these names describe who Jesus is and how he relates to the world. It is a good thing that we know these names, but it’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is for each of us to answer the question, “What will you call Him?” What name will you give Jesus? Because what you name Jesus determines who He is to you. There are two names that I personally give Jesus. First, I call Him “Savior.” I know Jesus as my Savior. I have asked Him to forgive me of my sin and to come into my heart. And Jesus has, because that is His promise to anyone who will believe in Him. Do you call Him Savior in your life? I also call Jesus “Lord.” Jesus is the Lord of my life. I have surrendered my life to Him and follow Him with all that I am and all that I do. Do you call Jesus “Lord?” I pray that this Christmas season will be a truly blessed one for you as you worship the Savior of the world and that you will know him as your personal Savior. And I pray that you will also know that the Lord of Heaven and Earth is also your personal Lord. What you call Him makes all the difference.