"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be on His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6
My regular readers have probably figured out long ago that this is my favorite verse regarding Christmas. This is my third year in a row, and my fifth year overall, that I am writing about this verse.
In my previous posts regarding this verse I focused on the fact that Jesus came to earth in order to establish a new Kingdom, a Kingdom that is backwards to the world's ways of doing things. This year I would like to address what this verse means to each of us personally. This post is inspired by a short message given by Pastor Jeff Amsbaugh at Heritage Baptist Church during the School Christmas program.
This verse identifies several names for Jesus, several roles that Jesus has promised to take in our lives.
Wonderful: First it identifies that Jesus would be called wonderful. There are times in our lives where we can get bogged down by the monotonous of life and we can forget the wonders that Jesus has done for us. I am sure that each one of us, if we take the time, can identify several wonderous things that Jesus has done. This Christmas season start there. Calm yourself down from the busyness of life and think back over the wonders performed in your life.
Were you delivered from an addiction or a nagging sin?
Has God blessed you with a wonderful family?
Have you been miraculously healed from sickness or disease?
Have you seen God bring you out of financial difficulties?
Counselor: In today's society we are hearing more and more about mental illness. Suicide and homicide seem to be on the rise and more and more people seem to be diagnosed with depression, bipolar, and other mental illnesses. In addition, we continue to see a large percentage of marriages ending in divorce. I am thankful for human counselors and, having worked in the mental health field, I have seen the tremendous benefit of psychiatric medications when properly prescribed. However, it is important for us as Christians to remember that Jesus is the ultimate Counselor. He should be the one we go to first with our issues. He should be the one that we are allowing to council us each and every day as we approach various decisions and problems.
Jesus is our marriage counselor.
Jesus is our career counselor.
Jesus is our psychiatric counselor.
Jesus is our financial counselor.
Jesus is our legal counselor.
Mighty God: Jesus is our Mighty God! 1 John 4:4 tells us; "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." It is important to remember that we do have an enemy in this world, but it is even more important to remember that our God is greater, mightier than that enemy! Jesus came down to earth as a baby, fully human, but He also came down at the Mighty God, fully divine. He conquered death, hell and the grave and took all authority in heaven and earth. He then gave us the ability to walk in that authority. When discussing how Jesus is Wonderful, I suggested looking back at the wonderous things He has done in your life. When discussing Him as Mighty God it is time to recognize those things that are not as they should be and put your faith in Him to make them right!
Are you or a family member fighting illness? - He is your healer.
Are you lacking the resources to do what God has called you to do? - He is your provider.
Are you fighting addiction or sin? - He is your deliverer, your victor.
Are you experiencing attacks on your family? - He is your protector.
He is Mighty God!
Everlasting Father: You may or may not know what it is like to have a loving, earthly father. A good father is a protector, a comforter, a guide, and one who brings teaching and even discipline. On the other hand, there are few people who can bring more pain to a child than a bad father, whether that father is absent, abusive, or simply complacent. If you have a difficult experience with your earthly father then God is present to heal you from that experience and to show you what a true father is supposed to be. Still, if you had a great father, and I hope you did, we all know that our earthly father will not be around forever. I try to be the best father I can be to my daughter but I have to recognize that there will be a point where I will not be able to be there for her. God is our Everlasting Father. He is the only father who can always be there and will be there for eternity.
Prince of Peace: Lastly, Isaiah identifies the coming Child as the Prince of Peace. There is a lot of turmoil in our society. Despite the continual promise and recognition that Jesus has overcome the world as Mighty God, there is also recognition that as long as we are on this earth we will experience trials and difficulties. The early church definitely experienced this going through significant persecution, first from the Jewish leaders, and then from the Roman leaders. There is no promise that our life will be perfect or that we will not have difficult times, but there is a promise that Jesus is our Prince of Peace. Through Him we can have peace even in the most difficult of times. Paul mentions that the peace of God "passes all understanding". In other words, God's peace will allow us to be in rest when our circumstances seem anything but peaceful. Through Jesus we can be like He was, asleep in the boat in the midst of the storm (Mark 4:38).
This Christmas, take some time to remember who He is to you. Yes, we are celebrating the day that Jesus was born as a baby but we are celebrating that day because He came as much more than a baby.
If you would like to read some of my previous posts about this verse here are the links:
Christmas and Politics from 2018
The True Meaning of Christmas from 2017
For unto us a Child is born... from 2014
The Truth About Christmas from 2013
Christmas Message from 2010.
