There’s Something About That Name

© Copyright 2013 PJ Stassen

All Rights Reserved

   When God wanted  to build a bridge between Him and us, He needed only two pieces of wood

- Rick Warren.

   During my late twenties (in the middle 1970’s) a friend, Gideon V., a co-worker in our Church’s youth ministry, and I used to go down to the Vaal River in Vanderbijlpark (South Africa) where I had been living since 1973, and, during balmy summer evenings, spend some time  in devotions, prayer and fellowship among the willows adorning the bank of the river, having just renewed my vow to follow Jesus and ready to commit to some serious Church ministry.

   We used to slip down to the river late on summer evenings when it was relatively quiet, where one could pray without the threat of frolicking picnickers or without undue interference from noisy revellers.  The full moon used to rise magnificently against the backdrop of the river … a huge golden globe promising all kinds of 'esoteric charm’ for the astute naturalist or aesthetic spiritual fulfilment for the discerning believer, almost as if it was specially arranged for our benefit by courtesy of the local Chamber of Commerce.

   However, even then my young life of faith was, as the case then probably must have been with millions of other young adults all over the world, very sketchy and insecure.  I used to feel as if I were always tottering on the edge of belief versus unbelief, science versus faith and intellect versus heart.  I must shamefully admit that I sometimes seriously wondered whether there really was something special about this so-called ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ at all. 

   One evening, in one of my many moods of doubt and uncertainty, I (more or less) asked: “Lord, please reveal yourself to me … please don’t allow me to waste my time with a mirage called the Gospel of Jesus Christ if it is not true, if it is not real, and if it is not to be trusted.  How much truth is there really in the name of this ‘Jesus’?”     

   I mean, even an acquaintance, a true, old-school cynic from an earlier generation, used to mock me and say: “What is so special about that name?  Every third Portuguese baby is named ‘Jesus’!”  But, on that night, a sudden gust of wind suddenly took hold of the tops of the trees as if it wanted to wrest them from the very soil they were rooted in and flung them, like a mighty Hercules, into the river, so much so that I was gripped by awe and terror.  The strange spectre of an owl, instead of perking on the branch of a tree, standing on the ground in the darkness and staring me straight in the eyes from no more than about two metres away, did not contribute much to my comfort either.  I decided to cut my session short and go home … I was simply scared stiff.  
   Then the truth dawned on me, and I was suddenly reminded of God’s conversation with David in the Old Testament:

   And the Philistines came up again and spread themselves in the Valley of the Giants.  And David inquired of Jehovah, and He said, You shall not go up, but go around behind them and come upon them over across from the weeping trees.  And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the weeping trees, then you shall strike. For then Jehovah shall go out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.  (2 Samuel 5:22-24 MKJV, eSword).

   What I had heard, I believe,  was the supernatural sound of marching in the tops of the trees, and I was consoled.  A few evenings later, when my friend Gideon V. and I were again praying at the river, he switched on the cassette player in his car and the Bill Gaither Trio came on singing, ‘There’s Something About That Name’.  Have you ever heard the Gaither Trio sing this song on the banks of a river on a summer evening, with a golden moon rising against the backdrop of royal blue skies?  It’s sheer 'glory’.  I quote from the only verse I know:

YouTube

There's Something About That Name

(© Copyright 1970 and Arrangement © 1974 by William J Gaither, International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved).

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

There’s just something about that name!

Master, Saviour, Jesus,

Like the fragrance after the rain;

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Let all Heaven and earth proclaim;

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,

But there’s something about that name!

Piet Stassen

eLiterature/eLiteratuur:

1. Scribd Publishing Site:  www.scribd.com/PietStassen (ENGLISH & AFRIKAANS)
2. eBook: 'Evolution: The Science That Evolved Into A Fairy Tale' (ENGLISH)  
3. eBook:  'Bertrand Russell Revisited: Rebuttal Of Bertrand Russell's 'Why I Am Not A Christian''(ENGLISH)
4. eBook: 'Meditations & Contemplations: A Reader For Both Atheists And Creationists' (ENGLISH)
5. eBook: 'Conservation, Rhino Poaching And Hypocrisy' (ENGLISH)
6. eBook: 'Why Darwinism ('Evolution') Does Not Make Sense' (ENGLISH)
7. eBook: 'Names And Titles Of Jesus Of Nazareth (ENGLISH)'
8. eBoek:  'Darwin Of Christus: Suid-Afrikaners By 'n Kruispad!' [AFRIKAANS].
9. eBoek:  'Bevryding Van Die Anti-Evangelie Van Ateisme-Evolusionisme' [AFRIKAANS].
10. eBoek:  'Name & Titels Van Jesus Christus' [AFRIKAANS].
11. eTracts, Christian (Free, Downloadable):  Free, downloadable Christian eTracts for free distribution (ENGLISH)
12. eTraktate, Christelik (Gratis, Aflaaibaar): Gratis, aflaaibabre Christelike Traktate vir gratis verspreiding (AFRIKAANS)

Bibliography

1. Gaither, Bill and Gloria (1974)  Let’s Just Praise The Lord. 'There's Just Something About That Name'. John T. Benson Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee.  (© Copyright 1970 and Arrangement © 1974 by William J Gaither, International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved).
2.  Last.fm.  'Bill & Gloria Gaither'.  Accessed At <http://www.last.fm/music/Bill+&+Gloria+Gaither> [online] 2013.