Spreading His Fame

It has been four or five years since I first heard the phrase, “Let’s make Jesus famous.” The first time I heard it I had a duel reaction. On the one hand, I thought it sounded pretty catchy. I simply thought of it as using a new vernacular as we look for new and fresh ways to communicate our call to share the love of Christ with others. On the other hand, I thought, “wait a minute, can we make Jesus famous?” So, I found myself caught between these two opposing ideas.

As is often the case with theological thought, over the next days and weeks I continued to ponder these things. Then, in my Bible reading one morning I read this, “But they went away and spread his fame through all that district” (Matthew 9:31). Suddenly, it made sense. We do not make Jesus famous, rather we spread His fame. Scripture tells us, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). I do believe it will be difficult to make someone more famous than that.

Why do these things matter? Is it simply a matter of semantics? Maybe. But, here is the thing we must recognize; if we are followers of Christ, we serve the very one to whom every knee will bow and ever tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is no greater privilege than that. This fact ought to humble us, stir us, break us, motivate us, and drive us. And yes, it should cause us to desire to be a part of the spreading of His fame.

Part of the problem with the idea of making Him famous is that it implies God needs something from us. We are reminded in Acts 17:25 that God is not, “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” So, we walk away with two truths. First, God needs nothing from me but invites me to be a part of what He is doing. Second, it is He who gives life and breath. For these two reasons, God deserves our praise and obedience.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell