Whats in a name?

When my wife and I found out we were going to have our first child, like most new parents we whipped ourselves into excitement trying to decide on names.  Also like most parents we came up with a boy and a girl name.  We batted around different ideas.  My wife suggested the name of her great grandmother, Mederise (meh-de-reese), to which I quickly responded, "...a french name for my Irish Catholic little girl!"  Not true.  Actually, immediately I fell in love with the name for its uniqueness and beauty. The name also demands attention to tradition and the strength of my wife's homesteader family. I tacked on the middle name Michelle, after my cousin and aunt.  Both are incredible women and drum up pleasant memories for me personally.  All five of my daughters have had the same boy name, Timothy, after my best friend from High School.  Not sure I'll ever get to use that one.

This holiday season we get to focus on one important name for God, Emmanuel.  I use to think this was just a pretty title or a foreign slang term for the baby Jesus.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  God gave this name to Mary and Joseph through the voice of an Angel (Matt 1:23).  It certainly has intention.  The name means "God is with us" and stems from Hebrew origin.  Most of us know that but somehow forget it.  Emmanuel sums up the deepest longing of our creator.  It expresses the most prolific miracle in the history of the world and insists on an eternity of victory for all humanity.  Its no Mederise, but it will do.  Emmanuel is truly the name above all names in the sense that it declares a reality all believers must come to reckon with.  Not bad for your first kid.

In Romans 8:31 Paul lays down one of his more popular lines, "If God is for us then who could be against us."  Yes, the line fits well on a coffee mug and/or a convention t-shirt, but it also should rip us apart.  God is with us and for us.  This puts all the pressure on us.  The "us" in this scenario need to get off our butts.  He doesn't need us.  He wants us.  He wants us to know he is with us and for us.  At this point we must respond.

This holiday season remember that he knows your name.  He took special care crafting the creation that led to your arrival.  The master of the universe likes you enough to dig deep into his reservoir of creative authority to make sure the world is a place for you to celebrate his victory.  Better yet, he loves you enough to be with you through the heart of his first and only born son.  Remember to say thanks between the ripping of paper and sips of Tom and Jerry during the time of year when we are asked to simply remember his name.