Eric's Beijing Diary

Listening now to the Bible Broadcasting Network...

"Jesus is the sweetest name I know....."

There is no name like Jesus. And no person, no entity, no historian has ever even attempted to deny the sweetness of Jesus. Whatever one may think if who Jesus really is, there has never been any question about the sweetness of his character. No one has ever dared to present him to history as a villain. There have been many great men in history. But even with the greatest of men, there is argument about their virtue, depending on a person's perspective. I think Abraham Lincoln was a great man. But a close friend of mine from the Old South said, "I'm not sorry Lincoln was shot; I'm just sorry he wasn't shot four years earlier."

You see, with most historical figures, the way we view them is based on our own background and perspective.

But more important is the sublime truth that the sweetness of Jesus is the kindness of the Father. God is not willing that any should perish, and he sent Jesus as the most complete representation of his true heart toward man. Philip said to Jesus, "Show us the Father." Philip believed that if they could just see the Father, they would be happy. There are so many ways Jesus could have answered that question:

"Are you out of your mind?! No man can see the Father and live!" (Exodus 33:20)

Or he could have said, "Actually, I'm quite a bit like my Father, so if you know what I look like, you have a pretty good idea what He looks like."

But he said, "He that has seen me, has seen the Father."

The significance of that statement cannot be overemphasized. Jesus is not merely a reflection of who God is. That is true of us (or should be):

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

But Jesus is the direct manifestation of the Father. So the sweetness of Jesus is an open revelation of how God truly desires to approach man. After all, Jesus did not come of his own. He came because "God loved the world."

Jesus is the sweetest name I know. And this sweet Name was sent to me because God's highest aim was to bring me into a sweet fellowship with Himself.