God knows your name

Every once in awhile I meet someone who has mastered the art of remembering names. It never fails to cause me to take notice if someone that I don’t know very well calls me by name. There is an amazing power in the use of a name. Many would be hard pressed to come up with the names of the neighbors around them or people that work with them on a regular basis. It is a shame that we do not go out of the way to introduce ourselves to new people in the workplace, church or community. The disciple of learning names will pay life-long benefits to the one who takes the time to do it. I pastor a church where I pretty much know the name of everyone who comes to the services. There are times, however, that I see someone who has attended for awhile and even though I have met them, I do not have a handle on their name. It bothers me to have to ask their name again because it tells them I was not listening or paying attention the last time I asked them. Kindergarten teacher Debbie Andersen wrote a book entitled, “God knows my name”. Here is a description of that book:

“It seems almost unimaginable that the God who created the universe and all that is in it would know each and every one of our names! But the Bible says that it is so. Scripture also tells us that He knows the number of hairs on our heads, that we cannot hide from Him, and that He hears our thoughts. In fact, God's Word abounds with references about His tender care for all His creatures, both great and small.”Since we are created in the image of God, it makes sense to think that we do have ability to learn the art of remembering names.

My self-imposed assignment today is to learn the names of several people that I see on a regular basis but do not know who they are. Maybe we should all wear name tags for a few days.