He Knows My Name!

Yesterday Sarah and I enjoyed some time out on the front porch. Sarah likes to do that. She's able to sit regally and gaze out over her kingdom. Her full name is HRH SARAH (Her Royal Highness). If you've ever met her you know that fits her perfectly.

As I'm sitting there reading and Sarah is watching over her kingdom I notice one of my neighbors and her two dogs headed our way. This neighbor's name is Sarah. She has two huge and beautiful Great Danes. Those dogs are gentle giants. They really look more like ponies, especially when Sarah takes them out for walks because she is so petite. Their names are Cagney and Lacey. (If you were around in the '80's you might remember the show with that name). 

We are all friends and we all like to talk. The problem is it kind of happens all at the same time.Cagney is first up the embankment and lets out a friendly "YIP!" to Sarah ----- and it's on. She goes tearing down off the porch and they have the funniest "conversation". They don't just bark, they have quite a repertoire. There is some barking in the midst of a "yip" and some howling along with heads turning one way and then the other, as if truly engaged in a critically important conversation. And who am I to say otherwise?

Sarah and I then try to talk. I call out to her and my Sarah comes bounding up the steps and looks at me. "Well?" -- truly the expression on her cute little face seems to be saying that. I tell her, "No, no. Not you - the other Sarah." I'm pretty sure I hear her sigh as she goes down the steps to resume her talk with Cagney and Lacey. This happens a few times as we try to talk and at one point I recall us laughing so hard that our laughing and the dogs howling was quite a concert. 

We say our good-byes and we watch as Sarah, Cagney and Lacey are on their way down the road. I find myself thinking of how confusing all our gibberish must have sounded. I wonder about the gibberish we humans make on a daily basis -- refusing to listen to the other while allowing our own voice to raise higher and higher to make sure we are the one with the last word.I wonder what God thinks of that? How does He sort through all our gabbing?

In the midst of these thoughts I pick my book back up to read on of God's glorious character -- loving us so much He created EACH ONE of us to be our own beautifully unique self. It's a small book with powerful words. It is written by Tommy Walker, the author of many of my favorite worship songs. This particular one is He Knows My Name. He says this:The first phrase of the song ... says "I have a maker," which reminds me of the mind-             boggling fact that each one of us is formed by the hand of God. That means we can be       assured that we have value and are precious simply and for no other reason than the           fact that we are created in His image. Isn't that amazing? We are small, in-process               versions of our big creator God. Flowers bloom, waterfalls cascade, cheetahs run fast          and birds fly high; but none of them is made in God's image -- only we are. And not only        did He make us, but He also made us with a purpose: to reflect who He is and give Him        glory with our lives."

I sit and think on that paragraph awhile. I find myself thinking through that same paragraph again this morning. I don't like the thoughts that surface but I know they are true: God created you and me and my next door neighbor and your cousins and the local pastor all in His name. That's GREAT! That's the way it should be! But there's more ... God created the murderer, the terrorist, the rapist, the shoplifter, all the "bad" people. God created them too. 

Just as He created us each a unique and beautiful creature, so too He gave us the choice to reject or embrace that truth. I admit it. I partially embrace it right now. I have a profound sadness in my heart and a burning, growing sense of fury in my soul. I have never been one who had a desire to see someone die but that dark part of me wishes that outcome for several people right now. You know, the "bad" people who are out there killing.

It's tough. Scripture tells us not to judge. It also tells us to love. God not only knows my name and loves me, He knows the name of the shooter and calls him his "beloved."  (Psalm 139) That's downright offensive. 

I wish God didn't have to be so loving.

Why can't He be more selective?

What does God say to me about how I love and who I choose to love. I believe CHOOSE is the key word. I'm supposed to choose. Instead, I embrace the beautiful me that I am and I am working on seeing and celebrating something possible for all those "bad people. 

God knows my name and speaks it clearly and tenderly. May each of us choose to live to the unique person He made us to be.