"Funny thing about that is I was ready to give you my name. Thought it was me and you, babe and now it's all just a shame and I guess I was wrong" -Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around"
As I was on my way into the office this morning, I was thinking the same thing as any normal American would at 7:30 in the morning: "Why is it so cold???" I turned the radio on in my '99 Boneville and was not really listening to the song, but soon I realized that the talented Justin was on. I only heard one single line out of the entire song: "I was ready to give you my name".
Interesting, isn't it? The value we put on a name. Not just any name, but normally the last name. When we're married, the man is ready to give his last name, his good hard earned name that has a reputation with it to a mate that he feels would represent him and that name so well. Or maybe it is the name of a famous basketball player that we want our child to be known by.
I always joke about wanting to name my child Charles so he could be called "Chuck Morris". The inferred kung fu powers of my son would be unstoppable.
A name. Proverbs says that "a good name is more desirable than great riches". That's cool, but there is something else in the Bible about "good". We read that "there is no one that does good, not even one" (Romans 3:12). If that is the case, then how can anybody really have a "good name"?
Because the funny thing about that is that He is ready to give you His name.
Jesus Christ came to earth and died for our sins, and even came back to life to conquer death once and for all. That gift He offers, what we call "salvation", "getting saved", "conversion", whatever, is to be able to finally fix the relationship that is broken because of sin. That sin is attached to our name. We cannot do anything truly good, because we're spiritually dead. But the One who's name is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11) died to not fix our name, our lives, but rather to give us a new one. That new one is defined by His name and empowered by Him.
He gives us His name. We should desire to have that name, to live that name, and be defined by that name, because it is the only name that is good.
Funny how we can learn about Christ because of Justin Timberlake.
-Raymond Morris
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