Letters to the Family of God

Dear Friends,

I have never been to a gender reveal party, but I think it would be fun to experience. I also think it might be an efficient occasion because of the inevitable question when a family reveals, we are having a baby, is, are you having a girl or a boy? Usually followed by, have you chosen a name?

People are creative in the way they choose names. Some want to honor family members; others have aspirations for their child’s future and want their name to somehow express that hope. However, can you imagine the conversation Mary might have had when asked about Jesus’s name?

So why did you call him Jesus? Did you and Joseph like the name? Was it in the family?

Their answer would be,

We gave Him the name Jesus because God sent a messenger to tell us that must be His name. We knew His name before He was even conceived.

Jesus’ name means savior. Jesus’ name means He came to rescue. It’s why He came to earth and took on human flesh. Christmas is about a rescue. Christianity is a rescue religion. Jesus came to save lost people, terribly needy people. The Angel gave Him that name before He was conceived so that no one would be uncertain about that.

Augustine, in his book, The City of God, has a portion of the book in which he writes a long list of the miseries of living as sinners in a world under sin. Then he writes,

There is no escape from this life other than through the grace of Christ our savior God and Lord. The very name Jesus shows this, for it means savior; And what He saves us from most of all is a life after this one which is more miserable still: and eternal life which is more like death than life.

Jesus’s name means Savior. Every time you say the name Jesus to your friends, to yourself, to your family, or others, remind yourself of this.