Matthew 1:16 (NKJV) 

“And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.” 

From His genealogy and ancestry, it is clear that Jesus was known as Jesus, son of Joseph. Although we are aware that Jesus was not the biological son of Joseph, He was the legal son of Joseph. In the community and on his birth certificate, He was the “son of Joseph the carpenter.” Jesus had another name, and the other name did not describe His physical genealogy, but His spiritual content and ministry. The Christ was the term that best described His purpose in life, His calling and His destiny. He was born not simply to be the son of Joseph; but to be the Anointed One, the One who would bring God to Mankind. Is it not strange that nobody calls Jesus today by the name of Joseph, but we all know Him by the function He came to perform? Does that despise Joseph? Not at all, on the contrary, it glorifies him. 

So what do we celebrate and what should make us proud? Is the cornerstone of our lives our physical inheritance by which we are surnamed and through which we may likely only be remembered? Or are we working on developing and growing the heavenly purpose and divine destiny upon our lives? It took over thirty years before the Christ in Jesus came into full bloom, but when it did, it brought Him excruciating pain and bore eternal consequences for humanity. What’s the name by which heaven names you? Is that purpose grooming or blooming? Are you willing to endure the pain of manifesting it to your generation? As a child of the Christ who bore His name, living for any purpose less than the purpose for which the Messiah came would be a sad end to a glorious possibility. 

“Lord, help me keep my eye raised up high; looking unto Jesus the Christ. And as I see You, Lord, may I walk in the name You brought to bear for humankind. As an offspring of the Anointed One, O Lord, give me the grace to bear that name honorably and to manifest that name fully to my generation. In Your name, I plead. Amen.”