“These (things) are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31, ESV)
We talk about God. We sing God bless America. We proclaim God is good. We put our faith in God as our refuge and strength. But who is God?
If we only talk about God in the generic, he becomes this anonymous and nebulous figure. He is out there somewhere in the universe looking down upon us. This is the “god” of many Americans. But it is not the God of the Bible.
Recognize that God is not generic. God is not anonymous. He is not out there in the universe. God came as a man. God has a name and his name is Jesus.
Sometimes I will have people tell me that they are not sure if God loves them. They might feel as if God has given up on them. They are not sure if God hears their prayer. They fear he doesn’t understand their struggle. Or worse, they think God is out to get them.
It is easy to think that way when we have a generic and anonymous God. A generic God is a God who is removed from us and is not concerned with our daily affairs. But when we look to a God who has a name, everything changes.
It is easy to say God does not love me. It is much more difficult to say Jesus does not love me. Jesus loves me so much that he died for me. How could I ever claim that someone who died for me does not love me? There is no greater love!
Everything changes when we recognize Jesus as God. We come to know the love of God. We can live in the confidence that Jesus hears and understands our struggles. And we hold to the truth that Jesus is for us and not against us. It is much easier to expose heresy and expose the Devil’s lies we’ve been made to believe when we call God by his name.
You can believe in God but not have Jesus. You can believe in God and not have hope in God. There are many people in this world who believe many different things about God that differ from the truth found in Jesus. Being a Deist (believer in God) is not necessarily the same as being a Christian.
Does your God have a name? Is his name Jesus? Or are you a Christian without Christ? Which really is not a Christian at all. God wants to know you and to be known by you. Give God a name!
“You shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31, ESV)
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