What’s In A Name?

 This past week I had the opportunity to share The Word with a local church. They sent me the passages of scripture for me to speak from. It wasn’t long before I knew the theme and direction I was to share from. 

This blog entry comes as a summary result of those thoughts. 

Too often we try to make a name for ourselves The Bible makes it clear that this kind of lifestyle is vanity. The Bible offer an alternative to self-centered living to a life that both receives blessings and those which we can also give!

We are not to live for self but for the Glory of God. 

As I sit at a local café, I watch all the people that come and go. I can quickly observe that people need a blessing; that being a blessing that only God can give!

Last Sunday I read Mark 8:34-38. It records that those that live for themselves alone will lose their own lives. 

Mark 8:35

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Again we find this Truth in the life and Calling of Abraham. (Genesis 17) It was through this relationship with God that he is given a new name. From Abram to Abraham we find the theme that he did not feel like he was measuring up. He didn’t feel that he was enough! 

His birth name, Abram means exhaled father. Well, as he was approaching 90 he still didn’t have even a child. He was no living up to the earthly expectations. Yet God, (and I love that phrase, yet God) Abram was going to be challenged to trust God’s plan; receive God’s blessing. While God wanted to bless him, he added to expectations by saying that he would be called, Abraham. This means, father of the nations! Wow! 

In the midst of already feeling like he wasn’t enough, God challenged him to consider that with God, nothing is impossible. From nothing and no where we can experience God in a way that takes us from no where to some place and from nothing to everything! (As long as it is in God’s Will.) 

Recently, traveling to Florida with our Youth of Christ team I realized how essential it is to have your name match your ID. When I arrived to the airport, I quickly learned that the spelling of my name was wrong. Consequently, it meant that I could not board the plane unless they can figure out a way to correct the error. Who would’ve thought that having a T in your name rather than a D in your name would make a difference? CarTer :: CarDer. I ultimately did get to Florida and back and didn’t have to walk. Names are important! 

God wants to bless us! It is in His nature to bless! Abraham made a covenant with God! This agreement means obedience and a journey that provided for his Blessing!

We can also learn from this lesson that God wants to use us to bless others! Abraham made mistakes yet God brought him into a relationship that blessed others. Consider what he did for Ishmael or even his nephew Lot. These were opportunities that helped others! By His own hand (and as a result of God’s blessing) we can see how others received, while unworthy yet God made a way possible! 

We have opportunities each and every day to represent the name of Christ and everything we do. Whether at the grocery store or at a restaurant. Perhaps even among friends and family, we can make a difference. We can bless others in the Name of Christ! I love how we can impact the lives of others! 

Psalms 22:30-31 reads; Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.

His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything He has done.

I am listening to a new book. In the context of the global impact, I am reminded of a book I have recently been reading: “Where Am I Eating?” by my new friend, Kelsey Timmerman.

Where does your coffee come from? The book tells the stories of local farmers in Columbia, Brazil…. Within this book I am discovering the origins of community :: Where my food comes from. My consumerism must be informed by the original origins of families and communities in far away places.

We have the opportunity to bless others all over the world just by paying attention and knowing where our food comes from. 

When it comes to leaving a legacy, not just a blessing, we can consider the impact our lives can make and leave a legacy for others! Like Abraham, we can impact the lives of all who find us faithful. It is an incredible reminder that we need to plant tree of which we will not enjoy the shade of. In Gen. 21, we find that Abraham build an altar to God by planting a tree for generations to benefit! He planted a Tamarisk tree. A tree that takes 400 years to grow! 

Those who have been martyred for their faith — so that we can enjoy the freedom of faith yet, we may be asked to sacrifice for the sake of others! 

Though we may not be tested in the same way, yet, we have a message to deliver. 

The message is that of an amazing grace that we have received through Jesus Christ. As we close this blog let us consider God’s Amazing Grace.  Let us thank God for the incredible blessing that is ours that we can give away yet today, and commit to invest into future tomorrows of generations to come!

If interested in the message I shared at Church click this link to listen.