The Perfect Name

<p>On a hot and humid day one August, my wife gave birth to our second son. But he remained nameless as we struggled to settle on a given name. After spending many hours in ice cream shops and taking long car rides, we still couldn&rsquo;t decide. He was simply &ldquo;Baby Williams&rdquo; for three days before finally being named Micah.</p> <p>Choosing the right name can be a little frustrating. Well, unless you&rsquo;re God, who came up with the perfect name for the One who would change things forever. Through the prophet Isaiah, God directed King Ahaz to ask Him &ldquo;for a sign&rdquo; to strengthen his faith (Isaiah 7:10&ndash;11). Though the king refused to ask for a sign, God gave him one anyway: &ldquo;The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel&rdquo; (v. 14). God named the child, and he would be a sign of hope to people going through despair. The name stuck and Matthew breathed new meaning into it when he wrote the narrative of Jesus&rsquo; birth (1:23). Jesus, too, would be &ldquo;Immanuel.&rdquo; He wouldn&rsquo;t just be a representative of God, but He would be God in the flesh, coming to rescue His people from the despair of sin.</p> <p>God gave us a sign. The sign is a Son. The Son&rsquo;s name is Immanuel&mdash;<em>God with us</em>. It&rsquo;s a name that reflects His presence and love. Today, He invites us to embrace Immanuel and know that He&rsquo;s with us.</p>