Daily Devotional - What’s in a Name? Everything!

. . . Jesus is the Christ, . . . you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is]. 
— John 20:31

The name of Jesus represents everything that He is—all of His righteousness, all of His perfection, all of His grace and love—that name is powerful. There is no power in your name or my name, but there is awesome power in the name of Jesus His name represents everything about who He is.

Let’s think about this in practical, terms. My name has not always been Joyce Meyer. I did not take Dave’s last name until I married him. Nothing of his belonged to me until we entered into the legal covenant of marriage. When we married, I did not have a car, but Dave did. When I got his name, I suddenly got a car too. I did not have much money; in fact, I was in debt. Dave did have money, so when I married him, I had money too and was able to pay off my bills. I did not have access to anything of Dave’s until I married him and took his name. When I became Mrs. Dave Meyer, everything he had became mine. While we were dating, I still had my maiden name, I still had my debt and I still had no car.

We cannot “date” Jesus and expect to enjoy the privileges that come with true commitment. By that, I mean that we cannot just spend time with Him occasionally and try to keep up a relationship only because of the blessings He offers us. We can only enjoy the full privileges of a relationship with Him when our hearts are truly committed. God knows what kind of relationship we have with Him, whether we are “dating” or whether we have given ourselves to Him in total commitment. When we are joined to Him in committed relationship, we can be confident that He will give to us everything His name affords—and we can enjoy it.

Love God Today: Are you in committed relationship with Jesus? Then everything His name represents belongs to you.