He Knows My Name

6-1-20

A walk down memory lane to a theme song on a popular TV show called Cheers talked about your name being known.  Let's visit the lyrics to part of this popular theme song for just a moment.

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,

And they're always glad you came;

You want to be where you can see,

Our troubles are all the same;

You want to be where everybody knows your name.

I think every one of us at some point in our life past present or future desires to be known and known by our name.   I think being known as a child our desire as an adult would be that we would be known by our name with good morals and character.  However, time passes, and our name that seems to somehow write a picture of our identity changes.  Some go on living and leaving a legacy of a good name, while others not so much.  Our lives write a story about our name.  We probably all have met someone in our life, who has a name meshed in their memory that may not bring necessarily a good name, yet as an individual, there is a desire for recognition for their name to be known and hopes for their troubles to be the same or if but for a moment be forgotten.

Life has a way of bringing people in and out of our lives.  Our name may be remembered by some and forgotten by others.  However, there is one who knows your name.  He knew your name while in your grandmother's womb.  He handpicked and chose you.  He shows many examples through the Bible of how he knew their names and also says, I know your name.  In Isaiah 41 he says I have chosen you and will not throw you away.  Think about it!  You and your name are so important to him and he hand chose you to never cast you away or forget your name.  Then in chapter 43 he again makes it more clear by specifically say I have called you by name; you are mine!  We and our name belong to him.  Our name is valued by him.  In chapter 49 he again reminds us of our importance by saying I called you from within the mother's womb and called us by name.  

There is something about someone recognizing and calling our name that gives a sense of identity and even purpose.  What type of name-calling are we listening for?  Are we listening to our specific name that identifies us?  What is our name saying about us?  Are we stopping to realize that our importance and value is so great to our Father that he has known us from within our grandmother's womb our name and will never forget it?  There is a striking concept to realize the importance and value of who we are by being known and not forgotten by our name?  He calls our name.  He watches over us and warns us of what is ahead if we listen when he calls our name.  He calls our name and says come sit on the bench or on my lap because I know your name and your troubles are the same to me.  I feel what you feel, so let's sit and share about it because I know your name.  Our name is so important to him.  He won't force us to share the identity of our name with him, but it brings him great delight when we allow the name he has chosen for us to be shared with him who gave us our name.  Will you share your name with him?  Will your name be shared intimately and with his purpose by the one who knows you?  Our name is being called, but it is up to us what we let our name write and be shared about us.  It is never too late, to let your name write a different story about you.  I am one of those, who chose to let my name be a name of redemption and change.  A name that I would want to be known by.  Just as the sheep know the shepherd's voice, so must we know the voice of the one who calls our name.