Ever drag yourself out of bed in the morning thinking, would someone please remind me of the point?
I suspect most of us experience emotional meltdowns now and then. We get irritated and depressed. We overstimulate ourselves and then can’t sleep. Everything feels impossible; nothing seems inspiring or fun. We barely tolerate the presence of others.
That’s me one day not long ago. So I decide to take a walk, and turn onto a street I don’t normally take, just on a whim.
He’s maybe four years old, the little kid coming toward me on a scooter. He waves and says hi. I say hi back. I see a young woman in the yard with her face in her hands. I wonder if she is okay and if I am supposed to say something to encourage her. (Do you catch the irony?)
I’m past their house now, going down the block, but the boy follows me.
“What’s your name?” he asks, smiling. I tell him and ask for his. I tell him to watch for cars and to have a good day. He says he will and seems reluctant to end the conversation. I keep walking, cheered a bit by the boy’s friendliness.
Ever the vigilant evangelical activist, I finally realize (duh) it wasn’t me who was supposed to do the ministering here. God sent that little boy to greet me as a gift I needed. Then the real kicker sinks in.
What’s your name?
The question comes back to my mind, and this time I really hear it, this question lisped through the lips of a neighborhood kid, but posed by God. It’s one of his rhetorical reminders about who I am. Tears sting the eyes.
I am Susanne, created in your image. I am a blood-bought child of the King. I am your redeemed possession, your prize and treasure. I am an heir to your throne. I am yours.
My ipod is still playing “Bones” by Hillsong, You can take my dry bones, breathe life into this skin; you call me by name, raise me to life again. Just in case I didn’t get the point yet.
He calls us by name. He knows us intimately. Our hope is based on this knowing and being known.
God knows your name and what it means. He wants to remind you of your identity, your purpose, your security. He knows exactly what he is doing with you and in you.
When everything crashes and you are angry and tired and sick of it, when you can’t make sense of it and you’re not sure you care anymore, this is God’s question for you:
What’s your name?
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