Fame

December 19

Habakkuk 2:4-3:19

Psalm 144:1-8

Proverbs 30:11-14

Revelation 12

Fame

“Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, Lord.  Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”  Habakkuk 3:2 NIV

This is an interesting passage.  When we think of famous people, we think of movie stars, athletes, and politicians. Generally, people who are famous are esteemed.  They are looked up to.  They have lots of followers on Instagram and Twitter because everyone wants to know everything about them.  Companies pay them to endorse their products because they know that people want to be like them.  If they are wearing a pair of shoes, everyone will want to own a pair of those shoes.  If they go to a restaurant, everyone will want to go to that restaurant.  We want to dress like them, have the same haircut, go on the same vacation, and do everything like them so that we can be like them. Unfortunately, the things that make people famous are generally external like physical appearance, athletic ability, charisma, etc.  People rarely become famous because of their character and integrity. Fame is fleeting.  It can happen overnight and then just as quickly it can be gone.  A sexual indiscretion is overlooked, but a careless word that is politically incorrect can result in being “cancelled.” 

 Fame isn’t a term that people normally use for God.  Merriam Webster defines fame as “notoriety, reputation, renown, celebrity, and public estimation.”27  It is the perfect term to refer to God.  Jesus is the most famous man who ever lived, and His Father is even more famous.  Most people on Earth have heard the name of Jesus.  They may have heard it taken in vain, but they have heard of Him.  As believers, the most important thing we can do is to proclaim His deeds every chance we get and continue to make Him famous.  Satan is trying to convince people that Jesus was a not the Messiah, the Son of God.  He wants them to believe anything except that He is the One True God.   The more people know about Him, the more they will want to know Him.  And the more they know Him, the more they will want to be like Him.  In the coming year, let’s make it our goal to make Him even more famous by spreading the truth about His love and mercy to everyone who will listen.