NAME

Psalm 8:1,9—O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth!

It would seem that the communist officials of China hadn’t heard the proverb noted above. The story goes that many years ago the Chinese government commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor. He was asked to distort the facts of this incredible missionary so that Taylor’s reputation would be smeared. Yet, as the author conducted his research, he was profoundly impressed by God’s servant. Taylor's saintly character and godly life were above reproach. The writer realized he could not fulfill the mission he was assigned with a clear conscience. Instead, aware of the danger that he could lose his own life, he set aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior. One godly man made a difference. One mighty name counted!

Our name is our heritage (the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). In a land of immigrants this is not so obvious. But in other lands, a person can be saddled with the baggage of what happened ten generations earlier. The sin of Adam effects us all. The grace of Jesus likewise redeems those who run to Him. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Our name is our reputation. If our character is unblemished our name is like the clear running water of a bubbly mountain spring. If our label is tarnished our reputation is like the Pasig river, a polluted Filipino waterway that changes colors according to the daily infusion of industrial waste.

Our name is our future. By placing our trust and allegiance in Jesus our names are recorded in God’s Book of Life. We gain entrance through the blood of His Son to an eternal celebration with our Almighty Father! If we blow off God as the myth of crippled personalities and turn our prideful backs on Jesus, our names will not be found when the final accounting is taken. We will be exiled to a place of eternal torment where God’s presence is forever removed (Revelation 20:15).

What’s in a name? In short, everything! The reason we strive to be like Jesus is that we might be identified with the One given “the name that is above every name, 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” (Philippians 2:9b,10).

Protect your name at all costs! Imagine standing in heaven conversing with someone who met the Jesus they saw in you, the Name by your name. That’s something to think about . . . in reveration!

Inspiration

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.—Chinese proverb