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The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honor our country can give a civilian. In 2013, our president bestowed that medal on Ernie Banks, Mr. Chicago Cub for his unique contribution to sports. As worthy such recipients are, they pale in comparison to the honor God has bestowed upon His Son, Jesus the Christ. We read in the Bible that in recognition of Christ’s humiliation, service, and suffering for the sins of all humanity, God His Father has elevated Him far above every name that is named. Jesus Christ is supreme over heaven and earth. By totally submitting Himself to do the will of His Father, He showed His qualification to receive this prestigious honor. In Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul expressed it this way: “God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 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” (from vv. 9–11). Since God the Creator thinks this much of His Son for purchasing our salvation by His humiliation and death, we the recipients of such a gift, should gladly respond in gratitude. We should do as the apostle counseled: “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God,” living in a world full of crooked and perverseness (from v. 15). We should shine as stars in a dark universe.
