What's in a Name?

William Shakespeare's Juliet famously asked, "What's in a name?", and on my way to work this morning I heard a song that made me ponder the same question. The song was Lincoln Brewster's new one The Power of Your Name, and one particular line he sang stuck out (and to be honest, I'm glad it did; when Brewster first came on the scene I couldn't really concentrate on his songs-each time the DJ said, "Lincoln Brewster" all I could think of was Punky Brewster, and that distraction would cause me to miss at least half of the song-but at least you now know why Punky is grinning at you from the top of this post). The line was, "Jesus Your name holds everything I need."

Now scholars and others who are much smarter than I tell us that when the Bible references the 'name' of Jesus or the 'name' of God, it deals with much more than how they are called. It deals with their titles, with their personalities, i.e., all that They are is wrapped up in the name. And so when Punky, I mean Lincoln, (see, I can't help myself!) sings about the name of Jesus holding all that we need, he's reminding himself (and us) that who Jesus is is sufficient for all we need. It's really a declaration of the sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

This isn't new theological ground he's breaking, is it? This is a theme that we hear in our churches, we study in our morning devotions, and I would venture to say that if we follower Christ we claim to believe this. But do we? Do we really believe it? You see, belief influences action. What we believe influences what we do. For example, I've never been to the Grand Canyon. I'd like to because I'm a boy and few things are cooler to a boy than holes in the ground. And I hear that the Grand Canyon is a fair sized hole. But if I ever get there, one thing I'm going to be sure and do-with all that is within me, I'm going to try and make certain that I don't fall to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You see, I've got this personal philosophy about that. I believe that if I fall to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, I'm going to die. And since I believe that, I'm going to avoid falling at all costs. What I believe influences what I do. If I simply said I believed that, but then didn't act as though I did, you might be inclined to wonder if I truly believed it.

How often, as a follower of Christ, do I demonstrate by my life that I believe that Jesus is sufficient? Conversely, how often do I demonstrate that I simply claim to believe that He's sufficient? The Bible couldn't be clearer. Colossians 2:10, "and you are complete in Him..." That means that if I've truly trusted in Christ alone for salvation, I need nothing else. Mentally, emotionally, psychologically, etc. Jesus is all. John MacArthur said, "Having the Lord Jesus Christ is to have everything needed in spiritual life for time and eternity. To have Him is to have everything. Not to have Him is to have absolutely nothing at all. All joy, peace, meaning, value, purpose, hope, fulfillment in life now and forever is bound up in Christ. And when a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they enter in to an all-sufficient relationship with an all-sufficient Christ."

I claim to believe that. But do I? Does my life give evidence that I trust that Jesus is truly sufficient? Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I don't always. I get distracted by the things the world has to offer-even though the world is passing away. Isn't it sad that we sometimes trade the temporal for the eternal? What a shameful thing for a follower of Christ to profess that Jesus is sufficient, that He is all but then, by his/her life, to demonstrate that He's not really sufficient. And how often I'm guilty of this. Thankfully, we can rest in the sufficient grace of a Savior who loves us not because of what we do, but in spite of what we do.

So what's in a name? Quite a lot. Everything, in fact. As long as that name is Jesus. Let's trust in the sufficiency of Jesus. Let's rest in the sufficiency of Jesus. We are complete in Him-in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Father, thank You for being all I need. Thank You for being more than I need. Thank You for making me complete in Jesus. Help me to see and savor the greatness of King Jesus. Help me to rest in His goodness and grace and not be distracted by temporal things. Help me to hold onto Your sufficiency and find my rest in it. Help me to show, by my life, that You are greater and more wonderful than anything the world has to offer. Amen.