God Knows Your Name

 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

    Last Monday, my nephew and his wife welcomed their newborn son into the world. We all waited to learn his name, which my sister released with several photographs the following day: Bennett Andrew. When I spoke with the proud grandma, I said, "Think of how many times he will use his name throughout his life along with his date of birth."

    On that same Monday, I was in the airport awaiting my flight home from Houston. The minute I flopped into a chair at the gate, I heard my name called over a loud speaker! My rapid heartbeat thudded in my ears as I gathered my wits about me to approach the desk. 

    "Yes?" I inquired, "I am Rachel Parsons. Is anything wrong?" Well, I needn't have worried; the request was for me to change my seat. I didn't mind, as long as I didn't have to sit in the lavatory on the plane. 

    Out of the sea of humanity that was coursing through the airport that day, my name was called. It was an unexpected, odd and rather frightful moment.

    What if God called my name? Would I shake in my size 10s or would I respond in obedient anticipation?

    Once home, I began to think of all the people in the Bible whom God called by name. Here's what I came up with, though there's likely more:

• Abraham - Genesis 22:1
• Moses - Exodus 3:4
• Samuel - 1 Samuel 3:6
• Elijah - 1 Kings 19:9
• Zechariah - Luke 1:13
• Mary, mother of Jesus - Luke 1:30
• Mary Magdalene - John 20:16
• Simon Peter - John 21: 15
• Saul - Acts 9:4
• Ananias - Acts 9:10

    When someone calls your name, it's a very personal thing, so I am not surprised that God knows me by name. He who formed me in my mother's womb ordained all my days for me before one of them came to be. He who knows the number of hairs upon my head would also know my name. What a comfort that is! He is a God who sees me, who hears me and knows me very intimately and, because I am saved by the blood of Jesus, my name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20). 

    When I was a preschooler, I remember watching a show called "Romper Room." At the close of each show, the hostess would peer through an empty hand mirror and say, "I see Linda; I see Johnny; I see..." Her magic mirror was a way for the child watching at home to feel special, as if he/she were a part of her world. When my name wasn't called, I would wave my arms at the television, vainly wishing to be seen.

    I don't have to do that with the God of the Universe who has summoned me by name. I am His.

"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." John 10:3