September 30, 2014 (Tuesday)
Yesterday’s blog mentioned “Human Universals,” a book which cited 67 items that are common to people of all cultures. I picked “marriage,” one of those items, to be used as a topic for the blog. Today, I am choosing one more of those cultural features: “personal name.”
Wherever you may go in the world, you will meet a person who has a name. Americans usually have three names: given name, middle name and family name. A person may be named using different patterns, resulting in fewer or more names for the individual. Some may follow rigid naming rules that originated in previous centuries and other countries.
Some folks have become so famous they are known by one name by itself, like Elvis and Cher. Initials may suffice, like “JFK” or “FDR.” Famous or not, we each have a name, and it’s important to us that others know what it is.
I heard of an imaginary letter to a client that began, “Dear 49X-2X-64X2, we have a personal interest in you.” Computers may be happy with numbers, but people like to have names.
We are wise to remember a name when introduced. Long ago Dale Carnegie, in his book, “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” wrote “Remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in the English language.” We love to hear people use our name.
Centuries ago God spoke to Israel, saying, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1 HCSB). Israel as a nation was so precious to the Lord that He called them by the new name that he gave their father, Jacob. Each individual in the nation was precious to the Lord. You are precious to the Lord.
“The Lord knows those that are His” (2 Timothy 2:19). He knows you. He not only knows your name–He knows all about you. Jesus told us that our Heavenly Father knows exactly how many hairs are in on our head at any given moment. He loves you, and wants to save you.* Once saved, you can join in singing this old hymn:
There’s a new name written down in Glory,
And it’s mine, oh yes, it’s mine!
* “.. if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation” (Romans 10:9-10 TLB).