It’s funny how certain stories burn into your brain.
This one that I’m thinking of took place 23 years ago while I was at college. Jami, myself and some friends were hanging out at the student center. As we were heading out, a couple of people came in and introduced themselves to the people I was with. One of the guys came up to me, shook my hand and asked me my name… something I wasn’t expecting. You see, this wasn’t the first time we met. It wasn’t even the second time we met. My response back to him as I was shaking his hand and looking him in the eye was simple… “‘Johnny,’ (we’ll call him Johnny to keep his name anonymous) since this is the third time shaking hands, I would have expected you to know my name by now. I’m sorry that you don’t.” Then I walked away.
Names are important. The desire to be known is great. We spend a lifetime trying to be known. As kids, we long for our parents to know and love us. We look for and hope for the popular kids to simply notice and acknowledge who we are. Many of us as teenagers and adults desperately look for and want someone to simply love us. We work our butts off day in and day out at work for those who are in charge to notice the effort we put in, the extra hours we work.
We work. And we try. And we work some more. And we beg. And we do things just to… Never. Be. Noticed. And it’s exhausting. It’s maddening. The anger. The sadness. The hurt. The despair. It’s overwhelming. And the questions come. Why does nobody notice me? Why can I not find love? Why does the boss not see my efforts? Why am I not known… by anyone? And you work some more. You try harder. You look for another love. You look for other attention. And you’re left feeling even more exhausted and overwhelmed.
Names are important. The desire to be known is beyond great. And there is One who does know your name… my name… our names. Check this out:
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. Genesis 43:1
I don’t know where you’re at in your faith journey. I don’t know if you even believe in God. But I’ll tell you this, the God who created the earth knows your name. He has numbered the hairs on your head. God knows you. He knows your name and you didn’t even have to do anything to make that happen. He knows you and you didn’t have to do anything to be accepted. And the God who created the earth wants you to know…
You are enough. Not because anything you can do. Not because of anyway you look. You are enough because Jesus is enough. When God looks at you, He sees you through His Son, Jesus. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in Genesis 16, verse 13…
And she gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13
Yup. Hagar. Sarah’s maidservant. Abraham’s baby mama. Who, while pregnant with Abraham’s child, was sent away from them because of Sarah’s relentless jealousy. And while Hagar was on the road of misery, the Lord met with her broken heart, heard her sadness, satisfied her needs, and secured her future in Him. The Lord saw Hagar for who she was and revealed Himself to her and gave to her unrelenting mercy and grace.
And He does the same thing for you and I. He meets us on our road of misery. He meets with our broken heart, hears our sadness, satisfies our needs and secures our future in Him. And He sees us for who we are and still accepts us as we are and calls us by our name.
If you’re tired at working to be known, come to Jesus in whom you will find rest and joy…
