"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." -Isaiah 9:6
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare wrote, "
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." But that is not exactly true because each word has a slightly different meaning or connotation. The use of a slightly different word in a situation is often how misunderstandings begin.
Each word God speaks is carefully crafted. He is purposeful and He always says what He means. God could have used many terms to describe His son, but notice the hope reflected in the descriptions He uses for our Savior here:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus is a
Wonderful Counselor. He's someone we can turn to who will help us sort things out, but He's much more than that. It says He's a wonderful counselor. How many times have we gone to friends or family or a paid professional who has steered us wrong? Jesus never will!
Jesus is the
Mighty God. There were several gods worshiped in Jesus' Day as there are now, but He isn't just any god and He is mighty!
Jesus is our
Everlasting Father. We all have an earthly father, but not all of us are blessed to still have our fathers with us. Some of our earthly fathers have died. Some our earthly fathers left us emotionally. Some of our earthly fathers have suffered an illness and they have left us mentally. Jesus will never leave us or forsake us!
Jesus is the
Prince of Peace. He's not just a prince as in the earthly sense who rules over others wielding his power with a sword for personal gain. Jesus brings us peace...a peace that surpasses all our earthly understanding.
The precision of God's Word is is deliberate and in some cases holds even deeper meaning within it. We can't be the perfect communicator that God is, but we should do our best to craft our words such that we say what we mean in a way that most effectively communicates our message to our audience.
This year, Art of Eloquence would like to help each of you to say what you mean among your family, friends, business associates and in your ministry. Start the new year by making sure you are subscribed to this blog and to our newsletter. The links are on the right and also below this post.
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