He Shall Be Called…
I have a coffee cup that my mom gave me, a gift from one of their many motorcycle excursions. Usually, if there was a Harley Davidson store on their route, they would stop in. Driving through Arkansas, they came through a town called Toad Suck, believe it or not, and a few miles away, was a Harley store, in Conway, Arkansas. There’s a great story behind how Toad Suck got its name, but you can look that up for yourself. There are several other towns across America that have very unusual names, and it makes you wonder how they got their unique names. Maybe a delicious lunch was discovered in Sandwich, Illinois and it’s possible a famous boxer came out of Knockemstiff, Ohio.
When you’re born, your parents pick out a name for you. You might be named after a loved one, or maybe your parents created a name by combining two other names, the possibilities are endless. Sometimes, the names we get are very unique, but most of the time, you can bet, there’s someone else in the world with the same name.
There is One, however, whose name is not the same as anyone else’s. God. Oh, there are lots of gods…idols, statues or kings who people worship, who they consider to be a “higher power.” But there is only One who can rightfully claim the title. Pastor once said if they were to take an old-school roll call at the tombs, you’d hear, “Buddha?’ ‘Here!’ ‘Muhammad?’ ‘Here!’ ‘Allah?’ Here!’ ‘Jesus?’ (pause) ‘Jesus?’ (pause)” You see, all the other gods are dead, but Jesus is ALIVE. He is the Living Christ, the Savior of the world. We see Hebrew names for Him…Yahweh, Yeshua, Jehovah…but in our own language, we call Him Master, Beloved, Friend, Great I Am, King of Kings, Redeemer, True Vine, Teacher, Shepherd, The Door, The Anchor, Messiah, Bright Morning Star, The Way the Truth and the Life...just to name a few. Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” If you don’t know who He is to you, before you go another day, find out. Take an excursion through the Good Book and along your route, take time to stop at all His names; study them, memorize them, and then take them with you wherever you go, so that in a time of need, you can call on Him for road side assistance.