A Better Name
Isaiah
56:3-5.
What is in a name? Why do
you want a good name?
What do names like Rockefeller, Templeton and Gates
mean in our society? They point to
access in the business world. They speak
of influence in the broader community around the world.
The
Word declares that God will give us a better name. The name given by the world is not the same
one that God gives. For those of the
Ancient Near East, a name meant access and influence and even for the world of
the Jews it meant what you were given access to the Temple. You had a place in the community of the
people of God. This is one reason why
the Pharisees disrespected Jesus. Jesus
was the son of a carpenter not a prophet nor a Levite.
The passage talks about the foreigner who joins
himself to the Lord. The foreigner was allowed to join him/herself to the
people of God through a serious ritual (Exodus 12:38), (remember the story of
Ruth). They were allowed to join
themselves to the Israelites but they were not allowed specified access to the
comfort and support from the community.
And you may know that the eunuch was the man who was captured and
castigated so that he could not have children but was allowed to be part of the
Israelite community. This person was
influenced to understand that he was cursed in a sense that he could not have
children. As many passages in the Old Testament that it was God’s disfavor that
caused infertility. They would come away
from the worship service thinking about not having a family tree, “I am only a
dry tree.” God says, “This is not the
case for those who join themselves to the Lord.” The prophet informs them directly that God
will establish their names.
The
promise of a memorial offers to them who will have no one to tell their
personal story, the fact that they will be remembered. This just goes to show that our names will
last forever because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Some may ask, “How does this promise come to
me through the blood of Jesus Christ?”
In summary, the promise of Christ is that He is the fulfillment of the
law of God (Gal 3:14). The promises
given to Abraham are extended and established through the sacrifice of Jesus on
the cross.
We have a memorial garden here at Southwest
Christian Care that helps families remember their loved ones. The memorial message is on a brick in the
garden. If you haven’t seen it, you may
want to visit. The garden offers to
families the remembrance of the loved ones in stone. This is so comforting and helpful in the
grieving process. It helps families to
state to the community and visitors that their loved one is remembered.
This
is what God offers to those who have joined themselves to Him. A name better than that of Sons and
daughters. Not just making a memory of
you but the mark you make in the world is established in the hearts of people
who may never meet you and to those long after you have entered into
eternity. God offers to everyone who
joins themselves to Him, an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
In
the daily routine of working and being responsible in life, it is possible to
lose sight on the importance of your place in the world. The call of God on your life is much like the
call of God on those many people who devoted themselves to the glory of God in
the pages of scripture. But just as
their names have a place of remembrance in God’s testimony of His relationship
with His people, you have a place and name better than of those of the culture
who seem to make the big impression on the world today.
The
world offers to you no promise of remembrance but God has already shown the
proof of His promise just by the testimony of many people who joined themselves
to Him in Scripture. These will always
be remembered. Your name will be remembered too…
You have a better name than you know.
Chaplain H. E. Cutter
