Tag: jesus

Why Called by Name? A Story of Redemption

A quick google search tells me that 9 out of 10 of us experience ‘earworms’! They are our imaginations inbuilt mp3 player, or in my terms – it’s that annoying constant replay of a seemingly random song that I hum, sing or whistle for hours on end every day!

I have two earworms which rear their heads daily. ‘If I only had a brain’1 as sung by the scarecrow in my childhood favourite film, the Wizard of Oz. This one isn’t just annoying because of it’s nature as an earworm, I find it offensive too! I take the words of the song quite personally, wondering if my brain (ironically) is giving me a direct message about my intelligence, or lack of.

My other resident earworm is a song from my childhood which we sang in school assemblies, in church and it is the only song I remember how to play on the piano!

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by your name,

You are mine.

I had no idea that the words of the song came from Isaiah, a book in the Bible that talks about God’s chosen people who rebel from Him time and time again whilst God remains faithful, sticking to his great rescue plan.

But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2

All through my childhood I was actively involved in the Roman Catholic church and from the outside looking in, I was what people would consider a good Christian. But I was always very aware, although I wouldn’t have described it this way, that I was a rebel. I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t ‘good’. I knew that this was a problem, but I had no idea what to do about it. I also had no idea that God wanted to and could rescue me from my rebellion, as he says in Isaiah, that he could redeem me. Although I had spent my whole childhood in the church, I didn’t know this good news, and that was because I didn’t know Jesus.

That all changed at the age of 19, one evening after reading some Psalms in the Bible after a year or so of searching to know more about Jesus. That was the day that God called me to be his, to know him as my heavenly father. That day was when I went from simply knowing about God to actually knowing God through Jesus.

So that’s why this blog is entitled ‘Called by Name’ – I want it to be an ongoing testimony of God’s saving work in my life – because I couldn’t write about anything that is more important than this fundamental reality. I am so thankful that the words of that song are with me every day to remind me that I have nothing to fear because God has paid the price so that he can call me to be his much loved child.

I am thankful for this earworm, unlike the other from the scarecrow. I am thankful for the reminder that my salvation was and continues to be all God’s doing. I bring nothing to the table to be called by name by God and know that I am his.

It is good to remember each day that I can have as much knowledge about God and be as articulate as I like when explaining my faith, but unless my heart is delighted to be known by God and each moment of each day is shaped by this truth, then my relationship with God is in danger of becoming dry.

It is good to be reminded, as a woman with a ‘can do’ attitude who makes things happen no matter how many chips are down, that my greatest need has been met and could only be met by God – to be known and to know HIM. HE has called me to an understanding of what Jesus did on the cross, taking the punishment for my rebellion and rising to life so that I might have a relationship with HIM. If it were by my effort, then I would have done it just by trying hard my whole childhood!

It also is good to know that even in that period when I did not know God as my saviour whilst growing up, that God was still working in my heart. He was building a knowledge about him, even though lots of it was erroneous knowledge. It would be easy to be resentful and judgemental at the missed opportunity of many to present Jesus clearly all those years when I was so close. But God knew what he was doing. I need to remember this each and every day, particularly in those seasons when I don’t know what is going on or why. It is helpful to be able to look back with the knowledge that God does know what is going on, and why, and because he loves me I can trust him. Because if I can look back and see how I could trust Him with my salvation, I can trust him with anything.

How ironic it is, that perhaps my two earworms are linked. One speaking of the need for knowledge ‘oh the things I could do with a brain’, and the other reminding me of the greater need for a heart that loves God and delights in being redeemed and known by him.

  1. https://youtu.be/nauLgZISozs?si=P-MZzb-_QTaeetfU ↩︎
  2. Isaiah 43 v1 ↩︎

Finding Life in the Shadows of Halloween

Officially, I work from home. But for 5 years now, I have adopted a new office, in my local library. I go there for a few reasons; to get my steps in so I get that rewarding buzz from my watch as I walk home; to escape the piles of washing and dirty dishes in my house which aren’t so much a distraction – they are piled high because I find it all too easy to ignore them – but it’s a bit deflating to occasionally notice them if I go to refill my drink. The main reason though, is that I like the 20 minute walk to people-watch, see the familiar faces going about their familiar routines – it gets me thinking – about what people are thinking, what is their life like, what will the rest of their day hold. It was on one of my commutes home on an October afternoon, that a woman across the road caught my eye. She was dangling two toy skeletons in front of a toddler, lounging in a buggy. She made the skeletons dance as if they were part of the cast of funny bones. She was loving it, the toddler less so!

As I watched, it got me thinking; why do skeletons, ghosts, ghouls, zombies and anything else that is usually associated with death bring such entertainment at this time of year? Whilst I don’t think that anybody who I know is actively wanting to celebrate evil and encourage their children to do the same – I do make the decision to not allow my children to be involved in anything that might have a hint of darkness about it around halloween, because I want to hold out light in all things, because light always defeats darkness! 

And so with that last sentence, it might be obvious that I have never been one to skirt around a subject or conversation. I’m not a fan of superficial, I want to get to the heart of things. When it comes to anything that might point to the big questions of life, I want to engage. So the way that October 31st brings flirtation with death and darkness and evil prompts me to consider how we actually deal with death, darkness and evil. We bury our heads by making light of it and reflecting what my mum always says to help us cope in tough times, ‘laughter is the best medicine’.

My closest exposure to the true sting of death came when my Gran died. It was close because I saw her shortly before she died, knowing that the inevitable was coming. Close also because I loved her so much. So the weight of her death has been and still is, significant. I remember her fondly; her gorgeous laugh which lit up her face and the room around her, but tears soon come as I also remember her fighting for breath. This is the last I heard and saw from that once laughing face, now overcast by the shadow of death. I read Psalm 23 to her in that moment, I didn’t plan to, it just seemed so apparent to me that she was walking in that valley of the shadow of death and that the only way that she would fear no evil, was if she knew that the Lord was her shepherd. I prayed this for her, with her, through tears, longing that God would in His great mercy, take her to dwell in His house forever.

We all know that death is devastating, it is painful beyond what we can bear sometimes. So maybe making light of something so dark is understandable. We are created by God, who did not create us for death. He created us for life, for all eternity with Him. So as His image bearers we subconsciously seek life. However as fractured image bearers, who don’t reflect Him as we should, we struggle to deal with the darkness of this world as we should. Rather than seeking life in Him, just like is so much of life, we seek it in other ways. Maybe ignoring death is one broken way of seeking life?

If we know Christ, we know that he and only he is the remedy to death and evil, it’s not ignoring it, it’s not putting it off, it’s not laughing in the face of it. It’s defeating evil – which Christ did on the cross, and putting death to death – which Christ did by rising to life.

There are lots of times where we seek out our friends and family to speak of this good news about Christ, Easter and Christmas being the obvious examples. But halloween is a unique opportunity, with death dancing before our eyes in the bones of a toy skeleton, with boldness maybe it’s not a huge leap to speak about life and death. And with people coming to us for once, knocking on our doors in our individualistic culture, will we hold out this same good news as we seek to at Christmas and Easter?

Philippians is a wonderful book of encouragement and challenge. Chapter 2 encourages the follower of Jesus to WORK OUT their salvation with fear and trembling. Followers of Jesus fall in different places when it comes to how they engage with halloween. Working out where we stand and being able to explain why we stand there in the light of our salvation, is vital.

Then the Christian is called to HOLD FIRMLY to the word of life so that we may shine like stars in the darkness. We can hold out the death and resurrection of Christ as the ultimate remedy to our greatest enemy, death. The saviour offering the light of life in a dark world.

Because we are transformed by our salvation and we cling on to God’s word, how will be distinctive in how we live but not detached from where we live. Like stars, obvious in the dark sky, but still very present in the darkness.

Here’s some practical pointers to consider this halloween, if you like…

  • Decorate your house with light at halloween
  • Be generous when people come knocking on your door, with your attention, the sweets that you offer and the good news of Jesus.
  • Pray for opportunities with those who you speak to around halloween. Most of the people who come knocking you will probably know or at least recognise, so pray for opportunities to speak to them again.