Provocative title huh? Yes. Provocative world we live in and sometimes the truth is meant to provoke. Provoke us to stop and think. Provoke us to make new choices based on new knowledge and wisdom.
The Word aka Jesus, invites us to ask for wisdom and God will give it to us liberally and without finding fault. That’s a pretty cool God. A merciful God. He doesn’t add up our scorecard of life to determine whether or not we are holy enough or worthy of a response from the Spirit that was present with Him when He fashioned the world. Nope, on the contrary, He says ” Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened, ask and I will answer”.
When we don’t know whose we are we will never take on the image designated for us. Whether not knowing our biological father or our heavenly, we will live as an orphan. A child without a father. Or even worse, we are deemed illegitimate. Many choices will be made in the spirit of autonomy by virtue of simply not knowing your birthright, much less the legacy you could leave.
Our fathers bestow our names. The last name of a father is proportionate to his legacy, his character and is intended to say something about us. Names carry weight or they carry the sins of the father, leaving us to clean up generational messes. Alas, we are not alone in carrying the legacy of greatness OR shedding the weight of shame and abandonment some men leave in their wake. Our names: The proverbial credit score of the world.
Adam was the first named human. His name described him. Red, clay, (proof the Garden Of Eden was in Georgia;). He was made after the image and likeness of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit and was formed and fashioned from the earth that is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. He was birthed from the heart, mind and loins of a limitless God and Godhead who named him for ‘pleasure’. Yes, we were created for one purpose, amid all the academic accolades and professional prowess, we were each uniquely crafted for His (their) pleasure. The word “name” actually means, joy. Amazing.
So, I ask you, is your name synonymous with joy? Is your name synonymous with freedom, peace and righteousness? If not, it’s time for a new family tree. In a time when more women refuse to take on their husband’s names and fathers, particularly in certain demographics, are all but MIA, is it really a wonder the world before us is out of order, confused and on the border of virtual chaos?
God is a God of order. It all begins with a name. He renamed those He encountered personally. Think Israel. Some of you only know the name by country. Kinda cool to know Israel began as Jacob. But after one heck of a wrestling match, he came away with a new name, a new identity and therefore a new purpose and subsequent to that, an entire people have been birthed from that one name. His character was proportionate to his engagement with the Lord and his new name reflected the struggle and ultimate surrender to the very God he wrestled with.
I’m Inspired to address this due to the death of a young rapper in my city, just last week. His ‘entertainment’ name was Bankroll Fresh. Makes you wonder. It’s easy to latch on to the identity of the world when you have no knowledge, no heavenly wisdom and no daddy.I don’t know his family or spiritual status. But I DO know most of the little guys following him and his music are without their own name or legacy and wanna be just like him. Because for even one second, he made it out of the life of ‘poverty’ long enough to make headlines about the 60 shell casings that littered the pavement beneath his cold, dead body at 28 years of age. Pathetic. Our kids deserve more and so did he. Poverty is subjective and money can’t buy you an identity. But God.
I’m personally grieved by the lack of fathers in the world. We see the ramification on most college campuses with each need to silence everyone in an attempt to keep our feelings from being ‘hurt’. Our spines were left somewhere on the birthing tables along with a Bible that most are too busy refuting than living. You will also see it flesh out in the political arena along with support for more government to control our lives and speak up for us. Big Daddy G (government). We want a king in lieu of our missing fathers. It will cost us, dearly.
Names will be written the in the Lambs book of Life. What will yours be? What identity are you living? The Bible tells us that as we are known here, we will be known there. Sobering prospect. And for those who are offended by words and characterizations, Jesus will separate the goats from the sheep. That’s not meant to hurt your feelings. It’s meant to tell you it’s time to get right or get left. And no, I’m not drawing parallels between the political right or left, but it is a little ironic that those who align with liberality for all in the form of saving trees to make up for vacuuming children often times end up on the left side of the spectrum.
What does YOUR name mean to you, to others and more importantly, to your Creator?
M