Names

Sue Farrow

Just a name to everyone reading this outside Madeira, except for four people in the US. To our children, she was "Mrs. Farrow", the headmistress of the British School, where Joy and Jeff went for a few years. Her long bout with cancer ended on Dec. 13.  Every day the newspaper announces funerals, but her name was more than just another name in the paper. To school children, she was "Mrs. Farrow"; to us and her other friends, she was "Sue"--she was a real person, not just a name.

101

Five professional soccer players who attend our church volunteered to go to the prison and have a short game with some of the prisoners, and then use the opportunity to give their testimonies and hand out New Testaments. The director was very open to the idea, and we were given a tour of the prison before the game. After the players gave their testimonies and the prisoners and guards received New Testaments, one of the prisoners requested a large-print Bible, because of his poor eyesight. José Carlos, as representative of the Gideons, made a note and asked the prisoner his name.

"101."

"No, I mean what's your name?"

"101," came the same reply. Another prisoner standing nearby came to the rescue, "Tell him your name. Hey, people on the outside use names!" The poor man was so used to being referred to as a number that he had lost the awareness of his own name.

The Name

"You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." A name with meaning, but maybe for most people, no more than just a name. It's the bonds of friendship and relationships that make a name more than just an identifying title. The name might as well be a number, if we have no personal relationship with Jesus, "Savior".

One of the qualities of the Good Shepherd is that "He knows His sheep,... He calls His own sheep by name." (John 10.3). To the overcomer, Christ will give "a new name." (Rev. 2.17) 

When we read of victims of crimes or disasters, and the death toll is given in numbers ... 25, 200, 1350... those people are not even names to us. But each individual is known to God. The question is: how many of them know God through the name of Jesus?