“You shall call His name Jesus.”

It is unimaginable that a Christian should not joyfully and confidently speak the name of Jesus. We speak the precious name because we love Him, and to be silent is impossible.

A blind man sat beside the highway begging when he heard that Jesus was passing by. “JESUS, have mercy on me,” he cried over and over. “Be quiet!” they said to him. How can you be silent when your only hope is walking by you? Again he cried, “JESUS, have mercy on me!” It is impossible that Jesus will not hear the sincere cry of a hurting soul: “Be of good cheer. Jesus has heard you, and He is calling for you.”

There will always be some who demand that we silence His name. Peter and John went to jail because they loved Jesus so much that they couldn’t stop saying it. “Never say it again,” was the demand of authority. “That is unthinkable,” was their response, “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

One of the greatest hymns ever written is this one: “Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown” by Charles Wesley:

“Tell me thy name, and tell me now…’Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me, I hear thy whisper in my heart. The morning breaks, the shadows flee, pure, Universal Love thou art. To me, to all, thy mercies move; thy nature and thy name is Love.”