Wonderful Counselor,
The mighty God,
The Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
I reckon that this is more than a mere list and that the order
is not accidental. It seems that each
title is a progression from the former, reflecting what He means to the progressing
believer in Christ.
Faith is not something that you either have or do not
have. It is a dynamic gift possessed in
growing or diminishing degree. Jesus
Christ during His mortal ministry among his disciples frequently pointed out to
them that they needed more faith, that their faith was still “little.” I do not recall that He told them that they
had no faith, just not enough. He wanted
their faith to grow. Luke records the
plea from the disciples to the Master, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5) Later Paul writes to the Corinthians that his
ministry will grow as the faith of the saints is “increased” (2 Corinthians
10:15). In his second letter to the
Thessalonians, Paul rejoices in God that the faith of those saints “groweth
exceedingly” (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
During this Christmas time, especially in a world of
gathering troubles, perhaps a good way to worship Christ—which is the true
spirit of Christmas—is to reflect upon how your faith has grown and how that
growth affects what the Savior means to you.
Do you call Jesus Christ your Wonderful Counselor? If so,
you are doing well. The Savior’s counsel
never fails, never leads astray, always leads to happiness and success. I can personally testify that in my life when
relying upon counsel from God I have never made a major mistake, whether in
family relations, career choice, or the timing of life’s large events. I have also been guided in uncounted lesser
things. The ancient American prophet
Helaman promised to his sons that if they would build upon the foundation of Jesus
Christ they would be on “a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build
they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)
But Christ is more.
Too many in the world who are at best casually familiar with Jesus and
His words and work would dismiss Him as being a truly wonderful counselor, but
one among many throughout history. Does
your faith allow you to call Him more? Do
you recognize Him as the mighty God? The testimonies of many since Adam proclaim Jesus
Christ as Lord and God. The Apostle
John, who knew Jesus personally and from direct association perhaps as well as
anyone who walked the earth, declared that Jesus was God, that “All things were
made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) Do you have the faith to receive Christ as
the mighty God, before whom you worship no other nor have any higher priority?
Being God need not cause the Creator to be distant from
us. One of the great messages of the
gospel, anciently as well as in modern times, is that our relationship to God
is one of family. Paul wrote to the
Romans,
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of
God: And if children,
then heirs; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.
(Romans (8:16-18)
God is literally our Father, the Father of our spirits. We lived in His presence, in His family,
before He sent each of us to this earth as part of our eternal progression to
become more like Him through the experience of trials and testing, trials and
tests that all of us would to some degree elect to fail. Our Father did not intend for those failures
to be permanent.
For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John
3:17)
Every week, every day, we receive powerful reminders that a
lot of saving is needed. That among so
much evil and destruction on the earth goodness and kindness can exist and even
flourish is unmistakable evidence of the presence of God and His influence. As we become full time participants in those
realms of goodness and kindness, and are saved by the spiritual transformation
that comes through Jesus Christ, we are reborn
into the family of God. As the ancient
American king, Benjamin, explained to his people, we are thereby “called the
children of Christ, and his sons and daughters” (Mosiah 5:7). This rebirth comes through keeping covenants
to follow Christ
with full purpose of heart, acting no
hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent . . . then cometh
the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the
tongue of angels . . . . (2 Nephi 31:13)
In short, for all with sufficient faith so to receive Him
and be spiritually reborn, Jesus becomes the Everlasting Father.
These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace. In the
world ye shall have tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
And so He has, and He promises that in Him so shall we. As we follow and receive Jesus Christ in our
daily walk, being transformed in thought and action, our endowment is “the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding”.
(Philippians 4:7) Then for us the
promise of Isaiah is realized, and Jesus Christ becomes our Prince of Peace as we enter His
peaceable kingdom, even in a world of tribulation.
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