How do you feel when someone knows your name?
Wait... did you think about it?
Justin's post yesterday reminded me of a conversation I had a few weeks ago. After church my brother introduced me to a guy I hadn't met before. We had a few minutes of get to know you conversation, where do you work, blah, blah, blah... as our conversation drew to an end we confirmed each others names and he made a comment that in retrospect kind of bothered me. He said, "I probably won't remember your name."
How does that thought resonate with you? Take a moment to imagine someone saying that to you. "I probably won't remember your name."
At the time I shrugged it off, literally, and replied with something vaguely similiar, don't worry about it, no big deal if you don't, nice to meet you, bye.
In the weeks since I keep returning to this conversation and what it was about that offhanded comment that bothered me.
In general, for some reason remembering peoples names, at first, is hard for us. It takes a few times to commit a name to our memory. I started questioning, why isn't it important enough to get it committed to memory the first time?
I know he didn't mean it that way, but telling me he wouldn't remember my name on some level communicated to me that I wasn't worth remembering. Because we are our name. There is so much in a name. It's how and who we identify ourselves. If someone asks who are you, you are your name. Your name means you are known.
John 10:2-5 "The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Did you catch that, when a shepherd calls his sheep, He. Calls. Them. By. Name.
Tommy Walker wrote a song: He Knows My Name
I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands
I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call
Doesn't that song just speak of an intimate relationship?
Casting Crowns wrote: "Who am I? That the Lord of all the earth, Would care to know my name, Would care to feel my hurt. Who am I? That the bright and morning star, Would choose to light the way, For my ever wandering heart."
Psalm 135: 13 says of YAHveh's name, "Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, through all generations."
The only One who it will ever matter knows my name. To Him I am worth remembering.
YAHveh, who's name is renown, knows my name.
I am known.
Wait... did you think about it?
Justin's post yesterday reminded me of a conversation I had a few weeks ago. After church my brother introduced me to a guy I hadn't met before. We had a few minutes of get to know you conversation, where do you work, blah, blah, blah... as our conversation drew to an end we confirmed each others names and he made a comment that in retrospect kind of bothered me. He said, "I probably won't remember your name."
How does that thought resonate with you? Take a moment to imagine someone saying that to you. "I probably won't remember your name."
At the time I shrugged it off, literally, and replied with something vaguely similiar, don't worry about it, no big deal if you don't, nice to meet you, bye.
In the weeks since I keep returning to this conversation and what it was about that offhanded comment that bothered me.
In general, for some reason remembering peoples names, at first, is hard for us. It takes a few times to commit a name to our memory. I started questioning, why isn't it important enough to get it committed to memory the first time?
I know he didn't mean it that way, but telling me he wouldn't remember my name on some level communicated to me that I wasn't worth remembering. Because we are our name. There is so much in a name. It's how and who we identify ourselves. If someone asks who are you, you are your name. Your name means you are known.
John 10:2-5 "The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Did you catch that, when a shepherd calls his sheep, He. Calls. Them. By. Name.
Tommy Walker wrote a song: He Knows My Name
I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands
I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call
Doesn't that song just speak of an intimate relationship?
Casting Crowns wrote: "Who am I? That the Lord of all the earth, Would care to know my name, Would care to feel my hurt. Who am I? That the bright and morning star, Would choose to light the way, For my ever wandering heart."
Psalm 135: 13 says of YAHveh's name, "Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, through all generations."
The only One who it will ever matter knows my name. To Him I am worth remembering.
YAHveh, who's name is renown, knows my name.
I am known.
Thanks for this post Naomi! What a crazy thought to think that the Creator of the UNIVERSE knows our names!
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