Who Are You?

    

     What’s your name? How did you get it? Have you ever named a child? How much thought and wrestling went into it? You didn’t casually toss any old name on your child, did you? Why not? Because names matter – oftentimes knitting and binding children together with their ancestors…and sometimes giving them a sense of destiny/purpose.

     Ask my brother Dann. Before Dann was born, dad wanted to name him ‘Patrick.’ Mom was opposed to it, so ‘Patrick’ became Dann’s middle name…except to dad. From Dann’s birth until dad’s death, Dann was always called ‘Patrick’ by dad. That naming aided in a bond that caused them to be closer than dad was to any of his other five children…as witnessed by the fact that Patrick chose to be dad’s primary caretaker throughout his battle with Parkinson’s. Patrick saw dad through his daily suffering and helped him cross the great chasm from death to eternal life…because he felt called by God to the endeavor.

     If that doesn’t convince you regarding the importance of names, ask Elizabeth.

     “When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, ‘No! He is to be called John.’” (Luke 1:57-60)

     Like rain upon a parched land, grace upon grace showers down upon this aged couple. Every promise brought by the messenger Gabriel came to pass. The family legacy will live on through this young boy. Rejoice!

 

     Then like a dry, chafing desert wind, the neighbors and relatives try to name the child. Elizabeth will have none of it. It is not a mild response she gives, but rather an emphatic “No!”

     But the neighbors aren’t content with their idea being summarily dismissed: “They said to her, ‘There is no one among your relatives who has that name.’ Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John.’” (61-63)

     If they didn’t get Elizabeth’s intent, Zechariah’s strikes like a lightning bolt, “His name is John.” Zechariah does not fear what his neighbors and relatives think. Rather, his desire is to be obedient to God’s message brought by Gabriel. Zechariah responds with faith, not doubt as he did in the Temple nine months earlier.

     “The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it asking, ‘What then is this child going to be?’ For the Lord’s hand was with him.” (65-66)

     More soul-refreshing rain falls from heaven as Zechariah’s mouth opens. Then, like a drenching summer storm sending flood waters rushing down the desert ravines, the news descends upon the entire region. And what words shower forth from Zechariah’s lips after a nine-month drought?  Praise, sweet praise, singing of God’s great mercy:

     “His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all of our days.’” (67-75)

     If the neighboring tongues were set loose merely by John’s given name, this was going to whip the gossip into the storm of the century. “God has come to redeem his people? The mighty and glorious Messiah? After all this time, it’s really here?  Salvation from our enemies? God desires that we serve him without fear?

     Like thunder reverberating against windowpanes, tremors shake the people loose from their apathy. Suddenly the significance of this little one named John is felt (“Yahweh is gracious”). “What then is this child going to be?” Ask Zechariah:

     “‘And you my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven and will shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.’ And the child grew and became strong; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.” (76-80)

     John’s task was to ready the people to meet their Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, Jesus Christ. The way of the Lord is the way that leads to salvation. Darkness would soon be fleeing as the voice cried out from the wilderness – “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”

     Who are you? If you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, you have been adopted into the royal family. You are a child of the King! Are you living out that calling upon your life? Or is the Great Deceiver trying to convince you that you haven’t received a new name, a new life, and that you are a new creation?      

     Cling tightly to the words of John, and live in that light: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, we praise your Name. You are the eternal Promise Keeper from age-to-age. Great is your faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies we see. Help us to be like Elizabeth’s friends and relatives who rejoiced with her because of your manifold blessings in her life. Never let us be jealous or spiteful of the blessings you bestow upon our brothers and sisters. Holy Spirit, grant us the boldness to stand firm on your commands, like Elizabeth, even when those closest to us balk. Help us to be like Zechariah. When we open our mouths, let your praises ring forth. Let our lives and words be melodies that cause the world to desire to dance to your tune. We do praise you, Lord Jesus, for sending the gift of the Holy Spirit. Only by his indwelling are we able to know any of your will for our lives. You are the God of Israel and we have been grafted into that marvelous tree of life. Praise your merciful Name for remembering your Holy covenant with Abraham. What joy to know that we are part of that family, children of God, and all those promises belong to us also. Thank you for promising to rescue us from the hand of our enemies. And we, too, will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Bind Satan, the deceiver. For you enable us to serve you without fear in holiness and righteousness before you all of our days. We receive these promises in the name of Jesus. Let our lives mirror John’s calling – help us to give people around us the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Use us to shine your light into the darkness and the shadow of death in order to guide others’ feet into the path of peace. For you are the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” Ω