“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Isaiah 9:6-7

From the time we learn that we are going to be a parent, we tend to have high hopes for our children and who they will become in the future. Some may see visions of their child becoming a doctor who makes a groundbreaking discovery that cures an illness. Others might have their fingers crossed for an engineer who designs the next great technology trend. Dads may hold out hope for a professional athlete that breaks records and doesn’t forget to take care of their parents along the way. Then, those children begin to develop a personality of their own, and you start to see their first true set of interests. This typically comes with a new set of expectations regarding the path they could pursue. For example, my two-year-old son has been obsessed with these three things for quite a while now: guitars, baseball, and trash cans (a natural trinity). My wife and I often joke about how Teddy will grow up to be a professional baseball player who makes it to the minor leagues before giving it up to become a sanitation engineer who plays local music gigs on the weekend with his buddies. Of course, these visions rarely come anywhere close to what that child ends up doing with his life when he is older, and we know that. So why do we have these dreams for our children? Why are these conversations had between every couple at some point as they await the birth of their child, regardless of how serious or tongue-in-cheek they may be? I believe the root of this stems from the fact that we want to know our kids are going to be okay. To us, it’s the cliche  “we want them to be better than us.”

The verse above takes those thoughts and conversations to completely new heights, and it does so about 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Can you imagine knowing these things about your child before he was even born? “Hey, just so you know, your unborn son is going to rule the nations and carry out God’s plan in the most humble and righteous way possible. For the rest of eternity, all will refer to him as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” I know I'm honest enough, and perhaps cynical enough, to admit this would be difficult to comprehend. Are we talking about the same kid that I can’t even get to take a sip of milk? However, these were not hopes or prayers, but rather facts being given about who Jesus would become. First of all, let’s point out something that is never lost on me during this time of year when we are reminded of the story of Jesus: He came into this world as a baby. God could have sent Jesus into the world in any form he wanted, but He chose to have Him enter the world like any other person. Additionally, this verse highlights the fact that a son would be “given,” emphasizing that this is a gift from our heavenly father. Something I have really come to appreciate as I’ve gotten older and moved into different seasons of life is how stories like these that I’ve heard over and over again can hit me completely differently now that I have children of my own. Now that I have experienced the gift of a child being given, I can empathize that much more with scriptures such as this. 

Perhaps the most awe-inspiring aspect of this promise comes in the beginning of verse 7, which reads, “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” Unlike the things of this earth, His peace is not temporary; it is never-ending. His promise is not fragile; it is enduring. Yes, Jesus was going to live a human life. He would be vulnerable to all of the temptations and pitfalls that we all endure. However, it was written that, “the zeal of the Lord Almighty” would help Jesus accomplish this divine plan laid out for His life. God’s initiative would assure that this promise was carried out, and we know well that it was carried out indeed. Just as God's promise was carried out in Jesus’ life on earth, His promise will be carried out in the lives of all of His children as long as they are pursuing Him. There is not a single hope or dream we could have for our lives or the lives of our children that are greater than His. Let us be reminded of that during this Christmas season. 

Merry Christmas from my family to yours, Patrick.

Patrick Loughran