Should Jesus Be Referred To As Precious?
Posted: Sunday, January 04, 2009
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
I was raised by devout Christian parents who did their best to teach me and train me to also be a good Christian. It took me a while to realize their efforts were in the proper direction, but I finally grew into one who at least tries to do what is right. But I can recall when I was very young, maybe from 5 to 12 or some period about then, when I was always impressed when I would see my mother, or anyone else staring at a new baby with the exclamation, "Oh she is precious." I could tell the word was used with the intent to be the best compliment they could come up with.
A few years later when in my upper teens I was walking down a dimly lit sidewalk on a residential street when I passed an older home, in need of repair. As I came close, I heard a loud voice, almost screams, coming from the house. I first thought that some woman was being beaten or something, but when I was directly in front I could hear that she was praying. And she was using the word, precious, almost every sentence. I was always taught to be respectful and I felt bad that my thoughts were negative to that method of praying. I thought to myself that it was totally unnecessary to yell that loud, unless you hoped that others would hear. And I also thought that all that use of "precious" probably indicated her efforts to appear very pious. But I tried to shake the feeling off and went on my way.
But the incident caused me to do some studying and meditating. Especially in reference to saying "precious Jesus". I had already learned that precious meant "very expensive" or of extreme value such as a precious stone. But I still could not get the preciousness of a baby out of my mind and I wondered if it was appropriate to use it in reference to Jesus. As I grew a little older and became a good deal more devout in my efforts to be a true Christian, my prayers were always fully intended to be addressed to God and to reference His Son as the authority for my approaching Him. But I, somehow, had the feeling that most of the adjectives used in reference to God or to Jesus, was done so in an effort to appear to others of being extremely devout, so I hardly ever used any other than "Our Father" which was used by Jesus in his giving His disciples the model prayer for Christians, often referred to as the Lord's Prayer.
Then one day I realized something. When you read the writings of the Psalmist David and the others, you find they use numerous embellishments in reference to God without hesitation. And we also learn that David was a man "after God's own heart". So, it is obvious God appreciates such words of awe and respect, but for Him, they must be from the heart of man and not simply an effort to flatter. Flatter? Flattery is an embellishment which is undeserved, so nothing could possibly be flattering to God or His Son Jesus.
The online dictionary Answers, gives the meanings for precious as:
(1) Of high cost or worth; valuable.
(2) Highly esteemed; cherished.
(3) Dear; beloved.
(4) Affectedly dainty or overrefined: precious mannerisms. Informal.
(5) Thoroughgoing; unmitigated: a precious mess.
The first three definitions are definitely accurate in describing God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. All three members of the Godhead, have worked together to offer mankind salvation from his sins and a home with them eternally. You can't find anything much more valuable than that. If you can comprehend even a tiny bit of their awesome power and abilities, you cannot help but esteem them highly. Dear has almost the same meaning as precious, and therefore is also accurate, and beloved would include awesome respect and appreciation for all they have done for us.
So the answer to our title question is yes, it is quite appropriate to use precious as an adjective for Jesus, God or even the Holy Spirit. That is not to say that we ought to use it over other respectful words, but that it is perfectly appropriate. I use it in the close of my prayers in the phrase "In Jesus precious name I pray". I also use "almighty" in the beginning of my prayers in reference to God. My only hesitation in any of this type wording is to be sure that it is said in my "awesome respect" for God and His Son, and never for appearance sake either in private or public prayer.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Hi Joel, with much respect to you, It sounds like you were raised with such a strict idea of Holiness and what is proper worship or prayer, that it didn't leave much room for excitement and fresh individuality in an approach to the throne. It never occured to me not to call him precious and talk to my Lord as "daddy" --As the Scripture says, "Abba Father". What a personal touch and to cry out to my daddy with such words as precious and dare I say awesome, tells me he is not only Holy, but personal. I am so glad you came to see this as okay. People who worship loud and dance and sing don't just do it for show, they do it for their Lord--just like David did. Why would that even be your thought that it was just for show? Were you taught this as well growing up? There is a song that we used to sing in my former church, called "I will dance like David danced". WOW! Very powerful and full of life.My favorite passage of Scipture is from James, Therefore, let us come boldly before the throne of grace.."Often times after we have our time of worship in song at church, we offer praise to the Almighty by giving Him an applause. He is certainly deserving of that and a whole lot more!Again, I am so glad you found freedom in using such a wonderful word as precious in referring to the Almighty.Hi Teresa, no I was not taught that. I just somehow formed the idea of precious being something cuddly and little, not appropriate for God. I'm from the hills, you have to cut me some slack.Hi Joel, I hope I didn't come off as not cuting you slack or being mean, we all think differently, I was just curious as to why you thought someone praising in such a manner was being show-y because you talked about it a lot in this piece. I can understand relating precious to cute and cuddly, I wasn't refering to that.Blessings to you. :-) Teresa
Joel, Interesting article, although I had to read it twice because I was a bit stymied over why you wouldn't have seen the word precious as ideally descriptive of Jesus Christ whether he was a newborn or one dying on the cross for our salvation.Hi Nancy, yes, I reckon it was just my unrealistic view of the word precious. I just couldn't visualize a member of the almighty godhead as being babyish. Like I told Teresa, I was raised in the backwood hills. When you are around a very limited number of people, you probably form many observations a little off center. Thanks for reading and commenting.
hi joel,this was a very well written article.i realized while reading, that when i pray, i always use the word Dear...Dear Jesus, Dear God. i personally don't think it really matters much, as long as we pray. at least, i hope not.my best regards,sueHi Susan, thank for reading and commenting. You're right. The main thing is to pray from the heart. He'll understand even if the wording is a little wrong.
Extremely nice article, Joel! Very easy to read and your point is well taken.Thanks for sharing! Best to you and your family!Thank you Thom, I really appreciate your kind comment.
Hi, Joel,
This to me is a memorable article. I like the way you take the reader through this progression of thought about words in prayers. I like the way you share an inner process, describe, and explain it. The example of seeing the lady through the window, as she prayed, and your thoughts and assumptions then, is one that sticks. I'd like to try this kind of inner process writing, which I don't think I've tried before.I also like that you show a person (you) who is open to thinking about spiritual impressions or questions and not just rejecting or burying them due to fear, etc.Hi Jane, thank you for your nice comment. Sometimes I think I meditate too much. I get so embedded in a thought sometimes, that I will pass my own driveway before I think of what I'm doing.And I've lived here almost 19 years!
Hi, Joel, it is interesting how impressions form. As I reread the article just now, I realized that you did not see the lady through a window (I must have pictured it as I read) but heard her as you stood outside that old house.Thanks again.~Jane
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