The Name above all names

Here we are on Christmas Eve, and I feel compelled to share with you something that God reminded me of yesterday while I was in church. We were singing a song that included the line, "Glorify Your Name, Name above all names," and this line really resonated in my heart. Why the big earth-shattering revelation with a line that we sing in churches quite a bit? Let me back-track a little for you.

We went shopping at the mall for a few Christmas presents the other day, and I came away pretty depressed. First of all, I felt so discontent. Normally, I'm pretty content with focusing on others' needs and not our own, but when there is so much excess and entire stores devoted to stuff no one really needs but stuff you "deserve" to have, it's easy to get caught up in the mindset of "I really want that, I need that..." It reminded me to guard what I let influence my thoughts and my heart. I'm not saying that it's wrong to give gifts at Christmas - I love giving gifts and making people smile, it's just the danger of buying into the lies that we must have these things to be truly happy. I think I need to re-read Randy Alcorn's little book, "The Treasure Principle", and re-focus on eternal values, not temporal ones. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

The other thing that really affected me was the emphasis on designer names. Whether walking into a department store or a specialty store, it was really hard for me to swallow the prices that were affixed to certain clothing, purses, shoes, furniture, etc. The inherent value that is added to something just because it bears a certain logo or name just astounds me. I'm all for purchasing items of good quality, but when there is social status or acceptance riding on that label name, it fails to be a good value and becomes a substitution to try to give us value in other's eyes.

It made me wonder if we give inherent value to the name of Jesus at this very important time of year, the very reason we give these gifts. Is He truly the Name above all these other names? Do we value Him more than a Louis Vuitton bag or a Tommy Bahama shirt? No intended slam against these particular names, just examples that came to my mind. His name will stand long after these names have faded into obscurity, and where we place our value will have long-term effect.

I guess yesterday as I stood there during worship time, I felt the need to declare my stance in this season, that I WILL regard His name as higher than all those other names and things that we think will make us happier or better people or more accepted among certain circles. I WILL fight my natural inclination to focus on myself and my family and put Him first.

I praise God that He chose to come in human form in a stinky, animal-filled manger, not the Ritz-Carlton. I praise God that shepherds and wise men had to seek Him out to find Him - his birth wasn't splashed across the cover of People magazine. May we still seek Him out in this special season and each day, and may we be delighed and filled with peace at what we find:

When He came, He gave us royalty,
When He came, He set the captives free;
He gave us life abundantly,
He came for you, He came for me.

When He came, He taught us how to live,
When He came, He taught us how to give.
He gave us power over sin,
He came, now we can live again.

A special day, the whole world changed
When He came.