Called by Name
I didn’t like roll call on the first day of school or most other days when our teacher called out our names. My name was Donna Wheat! That’s when the kids shouted out Donna Corn; Donna Buckwheat; Donna Wheaties!
So, I’d sit in those freshly adorned classrooms every fall with my lips pursed, eager to shout “HERE” and I prayed for her to move on to the next name quickly to the next kid!
My name for the year was determined by that roll call. It determined my identity, my yearbook page, my order in the alphabetized system, my being nearly the last one to be called to receive my diploma at graduation in a class of over 800 students.
All those names were what people called me, how people knew me, and what I answered for those first seventeen years of life. And then, along came my married name at the ripe age of 17 — Wuerch. Then it was having to spell THAT name. Eventually, when people tried to pronounce it correctly, I would declare “Wuerch, like church!” Rhyming seemed to have helped.
And now, the 3rd name I’ve been given is “Noble”. I love that name. It means righteous, virtuous, good, honorable, honest, upright, upstanding, worthy, moral, ethical, brave, generous. I hope that I can live up to that name the rest of my life!
So much is wrapped up in a name, so much of who we are that is woven into it. And maybe you have a name like Smith or Jones or Miller and have never had anyone make fun of your name.
We often answer to other names — like stupid or fat or ugly that burrow themselves into our minds and cloud out the rich identity God has uniquely given to each one of us.
Remember the story in Luke 1:57-66 when Zechariah wrote the name God had given to him for his son, John. Tradition said he had to take on his father’s name. But “Z” Dad allowed the Spirit to speak through him and let God dictate his identity when custom said otherwise.
Our loving Father is reminding us that HE called us by name and since He did, we can snuff out the lies from the enemy.
“But now, says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.’” Isaiah 43:1
In this verse, God assures His chosen people that He has called them by name and they belong to Him. That is you and me, too! Oh what love we have from THE ONE Who called us by name.
“See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands…..”
Isaiah 49:16
Oh, how awesome to know that our names are written in the palm of God’s hand. He is a name-caller! He calls out “forgiven, loved, empowered, strong, brave, champion, and a host of other names that assures we are His children in His royal family!
God thinks about us all the time. We are individualized. We are one-of-a-kind masterpieces. Yes, that, my friends, is TRUE LOVE! Let’s own the “family” name of God!